Courage and the Demons
by owlwatcher-974
Summary: Courage, Muriel, and Eustace are being terrorized by something so evil that it threatenes to destroy everyone and everyting in the town of Nowhere. Nobody is safe...not even Courage's ghostly friends. Chapter 13 is finally up.
1. Intruduction

Out in the darkness a shadowy creature slowly began to take form. Summoned to the town of Nowhere, it slowly glided over the empty landscape until it came upon a desolate looking farmhouse. The occupants of the farmhouse, an old farmer, his wife, and their pink dog, Courage, could feel that something wasn't right. Of course they had no idea of the evil that now lurked outside and would soon bring terror to every living being in the town of Nowhere.

This is the fourth story in the series that I started two years ago with a story called, "Courage and the Circle of Children". If you have not read the other three stories in the series, I would suggest that you read them before reading this story.

The other stories in the series are:

Courage and the Circle of Children

Courage and the Writing on the Stones

Courage and the Poisoned Apples


	2. A Nervous Night

Courage opened his sleepy eyes and sighed. It was just past midnight and he was having trouble going to sleep. It wasn't as if he wasn't dead tired. Poor courage was very sleepy but, something just seemed wrong tonight and he couldn't make his sleepy eyes stay shut. It had been this way all week - an uneasy feeling of something _wrong _in the air. Up until tonight Courage had just ignored the feeling but now he found himself feeling anxious and worried. After another hour of being unable to fall asleep, the pink dog decided to go downstairs to get himself a drink of water. He carefully got up from the bed he shared with his owners, Muriel and Eustace Bagge, and slipped quietly out the bedroom door. Courage shivered as he made his way down the hallway to the stairs. The house felt strangely creepy tonight and the anxious feeling was buzzing inside his stomach like a swarm of angry bees.

As Courage got further down the stairs, the anxious feeling kept getting worse and, by the time he got to the bottom of the stairs he found his hair standing on end. Slowly, he moved forward, one paw sliding up the wall feeling for the light switch. But instead of finding the lightswitch, his paw found a spiderweb. Courage jumped about two feet into the air landing in several pieces on the ground. One paw bounced around until it found the wall then pulled itself up the wall until it found the lightswitch. Suddenly the room was filled with the comforting glow of the overhead light.

Courage pulled himself together and stood up with a nervous giggle at how silly he had been to be afraid of a little thing like a spiderweb. Still, even with the warm glow of the light, he found himself feeling very nervous. "Get a hold of yourself!" he said out loud as he made his way to the kitchen door. He reached in to turn on the light before entering the room.

Courage slowly tip-toed over to the sink unable to understand why he was being so careful to be quiet wondering exactly what it was that was making him feel so afraid. He reached up to the cabinet and found a plastic cup then filled it with water from the sink. He was enjoying a good long drink when a voice startled him so badly that he found himself stuck to the ceiling like a frightened cat!

"Courage, what are ye doin' up so late?" Courage pried his claws out of the ceiling falling to the floor with a soft thud. He was relieved to see Muriel standing in the kitchen doorway. He gave Muriel a toothy grin as he picked up the plastic cup that he had dropped on the ground. Muriel chuckled and grabbed a dishtowel to clean the water up off the floor. "I didn't mean to startle you Courage. I was just having trouble getting to sleep and was wondering where you had gone to." Courage wagged his tail at Muriel. Her kind, gentle voice always made him feel better and it was good to know that he wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping. It did worry him a little that he wasn't the only one who seemed to be feeling a little anxious and scared tonight. He noticed Muriel's hands shaking as she returned the towel to the rack to dry.

Muriel made some hot cocoa then the two of them went into the living room. Muriel settled down in her rocking chair with Courage curled up in her lap and turned on the television. Courage contently sipped his hot cocoa feeling much more safe and secure curled up in Muriel's lap in the well lit livingroom. He was dozing off when a strange feeling of fear overcame him. Courage woke with a start to find Muriel asleep. The tv was strangely quiet although the movie that Muriel had been watching was still on the screen. The whole room felt strange and he wondered for a moment if he might be dreaming. A noise behind him let him know that he was awake. Courage jumped off of Muriel's lap waking her up. The pink dog landed with a frightened thud, his eyes searching the room for the source of the sound, then melted on the floor with a sigh of relief as he realized that the sound was just Eustace coming down the stairs.

Muriel turned toward the stairs and looked up at Eustace. "We're ye having trouble sleeping too Eustace?"

Eustace just nodded and motioned toward the cup on the table next to Muriel's rocking chair. "What's that?"

"It's hot cocoa, want some? I made plenty."

Eustace headed toward the kitchen. "I'll get it myself." He returned a moment later with a large cup in his hand. He sat down in his chair taking a long sip of the cocoa before setting the cup down on the table next to him. "What's on the tv?

Muriel looked up at the screen and seemed confused for a moment as she tried to remember what she had been watching before she fell asleep. "It was a movie about some people living in a small town out in the country. I can't remember the name..." Muriel's voice trailed off as she suddenly realized that the television was still on but silent as a commercial showed on the screen. "That's funny. What happened to  
the sound?"

Eustace glared down at Courage. "Stupid dog, go see what's wrong with the tv!"

Courage, who was still standing on the floor by Muriel's feet, looked up at Eustace then over at the television set before walking over and playing with the knobs on the front of the machine trying to get some sound out of it. Finally, Courage looked back at Muriel and Eustace and shrugged. He was making his way across the rug to Muriel's chair when the sound came blaring back on. Courage lept onto Muriel's lap and sat there shivering with the sudden fright.

Eustace and Muriel both stared at the tv. "Now that was odd." Muriel said almost cheerfully. Eustace got up to go take a look at the television set grumbling something under his breath. He stopped in his tracks as the television suddenly went off then came back on again. Courage turned white and huddled in Muriel's arms as Muriel let out a startled, "Oh my!"

Eustace just stood there in the middle of the room glaring at the tv screen. "Oh great, another thing for me to fix." he grumbled angrily as he watched the television for a moment to make sure that it was going to say on before returning to his chair.

Muriel looked over at him. "Eustace, something strange is going on around here. None of us can sleep, Courage is jumpy and scared, and even I am feeling a little nervous. And now the tv is acting up."

Eustace finished off the rest of his cocoa and set the cup down on the table next to his chair. "Ain't nothing strange going on Muriel. That dog is always scared of something or other. I don't know why neither of us can sleep but it could be all that vinegar you used in the casserole this evening. The television is just broke like all the other stuff around here that I got to fix."

Muriel didn't seem too convinced. "I hope you're right Eustace, but I don't know. I've had this nervous feeling for the last few days now and I swear something doesn't seem right."

"Blah, blah, blah. Don't get all crazy on me woman. There's nothing wrong around here. Just your nerves." Eustace turned his attention toward the tv screen as the news came on. Even though he said that nothing was wrong, Eustace didn't seem in any hurry to turn off the lights and go to bed. All three of them stayed in the living room the rest of the night.


	3. Strange Behavior

Courage was awakened the next morning by Muriel as she gently pushed him off of her lap and got up from her chair. Eustace was still asleep in his chair so Muriel and Courage quietly went into the kitchen. Courge noticed the dark circles under Muriel's eyes as she searched through the refrigerator then busied herself at the stove cooking breakfast. The pink dog also noticed that Muriel was acting nervous and her hands were still shaking even though it was now daylight. He whined softly looking up at Muriel with concern. Muriel seemed to understand what he was thinking. "Don't worry Courage, I'm just feeling a little tired this morning." She gave the little dog a reassuring smile before turning her attention back to the stove.

Breakfast was almost ready when Eustace came into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Courage noticed that Eustace also seemed a little uneasy and had dark circles under his eyes. Another thing Courage noticed was that Eustace didn't seem as grumpy as usual. He didn't even say anything when Muriel put a plate on the table for Courage. Usually, Eustace said something about Courage eating at the table and sometimes made him eat on the floor. But Eustace seemed unusually quiet and distracted this morning.

Muriel seemed to notice this too. "Something wrong this morning Eustace?" she asked as she sat his plate down in front of him.

Eustace looked up at her. "I don't know Muriel. I had some really strange dreams last night. Not sure if it was because of the tv and sleeping in the livng room or what but ... " Eustace's voice trailed off as he stared at his plate.

Muriel sat down with her plate, taking a bite of her food. "Eat your breakfast Eustace", she said gently, "You'll feel better after a good breakfast."

Eustace quietly took a bite of his food chewing for a long time before swallowing. "I'll take a look at the television after I read me paper. Got to be an explanation for what happened last night."

Courage looked over at Eustace. Something strange was definately going on when Eustace started acting worried. Courage looked up and saw that Muriel was looking over at him so he forced himself to finish eating his breakfast so she wouldn't worry about him. Muriel and Eustace both seemed worried enough already.

After breakfast Courage helped Muriel clean up then wandered into the living room where Eustace was reading the paper. Courage was getting ready to curl up on the rug when Eustace put down the paper and got up motioning for Courage to follow him outside. Courage followed Eustace outside walking into the barn behind him.

Eustace stared down at the ground for a moment then looked over at Courage. "I didn't want to tell Muriel this but I keep having these dreams ... bad dreams, dog."

Courage looked up at Eustace and whimpered softly with concern. Eustace must be really shaken up to be talking to him like this.

Eustace looked away and continued, "Dreams that something really bad is watching us. Dreams that something is even in the room with us while we sleep. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with whatever it is that is making Muriel so nervous but these dreams ..." Eustace stopped and looked away. Courage could see the fear in the old man's eyes. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity Eustace looked back down at Courage. "I had a dream that something bad happened to Muriel." He said softly. "I know I don't always act like it but I do care about Muriel. It's just sometimes things get in the way and I ... you know." Eustace sighed and stared down at the ground. Courage actually found himself feeling sorry for Eustace and very afraid for Muriel. The pink dog walked over, climbed up on a bail of hay next to  
Eustace, then leaned over and gave him a hug. He couldn't believe it when Eustace actually hugged him back.

The two headed back into the house and found Muriel sitting in her rocking chair in the living room. "I was wondering where the two of you where." Muriel's voice sounded very tired and wasn't as cheerful as normal. Courage whimpered soflty jumping up into her lap.

"We just went out to the garage to look for my tools." Eustace said. "I forgot I left them in the cellar when I was working on the pipes last week." Eustace left the room then returned a few moments later with his toolkit in hand. Courage jumped off of Muriel's lap to join Eustace in front of the television set.

"Hey dog, unplug the tv for me will ya?" Courage nodded reaching back to pull the plug out of the wall. He stopped short as he found that the tv was already unplugged. Courage gulped turning to tug on Eustace's sleeve pointing anxiously to the plug. Eustace stared at Courage then at the plug then back at the frightened expression on the dog's face. "Did you unplug it already?" Courage shook his head. Eustace motioned to Courage to be quiet so as not to make Muriel anymore upset and nervous than she already was. Courage gulped and settled  
down. Muriel wasn't able to see Courage because Eustace and the tv were blocking her view so she didn't see what had just happened. Eustace pulled off the front panel and looked at the on/off switch then replaced the panel. "Move dog!" He glared over at Courage who was still in back of the tv. Courage quickly moved out of the way as Eustace began to pull the back cover off of the tv set. Courage whimpered nervously. "Don't worry stupid dog, I've done this sort of thing before." Even though he called Courage 'stupid dog', Eustace's voice lacked the venom it normally had when he spoke to Courage. Even Muriel seemed to notice this but said nothing.

Eustace poked around inside the tv set for a few minutes then reached out his hand toward Courage. "Hand me my big screwdriver dog!" Courage quickly handed Eustace the screwdriver. "Now stand back!" Courage quickly backed up wondering what Eustace was up to. A second later a shower of sparks came from inside the television.

Muriel gasped, "Eustace!"

The old man backed away from the tv set. "It's ok Muriel. I was just testing something."

"What were ye testing, how easily you could get shocked?" Muriel's voice was frantic.

Eustace moved from behind the tv set to look over at her. "Take it easy woman! I was just testing to see if there was any power back here."

Muriel got up from the rocking chair. "I'm going to go make some tea."

Eustace thought about it for a moment then asked, "Why don't you make us some of your Happy Plums for desert tonight? I think we could all use some."

Muriel smiled cheerfully. "Yes, Happy Plums would be a wonderful idea! But I need to go into town to get a few things to make them."

Eustace finished putting the back cover on the tv set and stood up. "That might be just the ticket. A trip to town might help to settle our nerves."

Muriel stared at Eustace. "Eustace, are ye feelin' well? I know things have been a little strange around here lately but you don't seem to be yourself."

Eustace picked up his toolbox and headed toward the front door. "I'm ok Muriel. Just didn't get much sleep last night with those dreams and all. Just feel a little tired today."


	4. Just Something in the Weather?

After a nice relaxing drive into town, Eustace, Muriel and Courage climbed out of the truck and went their seperate ways. Muriel went to the grocery store, Eustace headed to the hardware store, and Courage wandered off toward the park.

It was a nice autumn day although winter was fast approaching and the leaves were mostly gone from the trees. The cool air felt good on Courage's fur as he walked along the sidewalk. He looked up at the sky for a moment and sighed happily. The crystal blue sky seemed so calm and relaxing. It felt so good to be here today that he forgot all about the events at home until he saw the children on the playground. There were several boys playing ball only they weren't playing so much as just standing there tossing a ball once in a while. There were some girls on the swingset but they weren't swinging much. They would just sit there and maybe swing for a couple of moments then sit still again. All of the children had frightened looks on their faces. They kept looking around as if they were expecting something to be lurking behind them. "I wonder what's wrong with them?" Courage said aloud to himself.

Courage watched the children for a few minutes then wandered over to the fountain. The water was splashing about happily as usual. "At least something around here is normal." Courage thought to himself as he looked down into the pool of rippling water. Once again he forgot his troubles as the sunlight reflected off of the rippling water hypnotizing him. The happy splashing sound calmed his nerves. Soon, he began to feel completely relaxed. Courage didn't know how long he had been gazing into the water when a noise behind him startled him. Courage jumped and turned around but he couldn't see anything. Suddenly he began to feel that same horrible fear that he had felt the night before. Courage shivered turned his gaze back to the fountain staring into the water once more. The sunlit ripples once again started to hypnotize the fear away. Courage was beginning to feel relaxed once more when suddenly a big shadow seemed to cover the sun for an instant. Courage looked up at the sky expecting to see a large bird or something flying overhead but there was nothing but empty sky. In the background of his mind he heard children screaming. Quickly realizing that the screams were coming from the playground, Courage raced back through the park toward the frightened screams.

When he got there the playground was empty. There was no sign of children anywhere. Courage looked around for any sign of what had scared the children away but found nothing. The pink dog raced toward the sidewalk but found no trace of the children there either. He turned back and began to sniff around to see if maybe something had happened to the children but found no trace of any kind of trouble. Aftersearching around the playground for a few minutes Courage could not find anything that could have scared so many children away so quickly. Finally he left the park to go back to the truck where he met up with Eustace and Muriel.

"There is something strange going on I tell you!" Courage heard Muriel say to Eustace. "Everybody is acting so nervous!"

Eustace took the last grocery bag from Muriel and loaded it into the back of the truck. "Don't let yourself get all worked up about nothing woman! Probably just something in the weather."

Courage looked nervously back toward the park as they all climbed back into the truck. He snuggled close to Muriel during the ride home but that horrible feeling of fear was coming back and nothing seemed to get rid of it.


	5. Night of Terror

It was early evening by the time they got home. The autumn sky had a mix of multi-colored clouds against the darkening crystal-blue background as a chilly breeze gently drifted over the landscape. Normally, Muriel would go into the house with the groceries while Eustace would take whatever he had bought at the hardware store into either the basement or the barn. Courage would either help Muriel with the groceries or lie down on the porch to enjoy the beautiful sunset. But this evening Muriel and Courage waited while Eustace took a couple of large boxes into the barn to put them away then everybody went into the house together. Even though it wasn't really dark yet, Eustace turned on the light in the living room as soon as they walked into the front door. Muriel went into the kitchen to cook dinner while Eustace turned on the televison to watch the news. Courage settled down in the living room close to the kitchen door which Muriel had left open.

A few minutes later, Muriel called Courage in to set the table. Eustace followed Courage into the kitchen and helped him set the table then sat down at the table while Muriel finished dinner. "What are you cooking tonight Muriel?"

Muriel was obviously surprised by Eustace's question. "I'm fixing pork chops with white vinegar gravy and Happy Plums for desert."

"Smells delicious!"

Muriel turned and gave Eustace a strange look for a moment then finally said, "Why thank-you Eustace. I certainly hope it tastes as good as it smells. I had to substitute a couple of ingredients because the store was out of a few things. You know, Eustace, that was something else that was really odd. The grocery store was out of so many things when I was there - things that they usually have."

Eustace shrugged. "Maybe the delivery truck hasn't gotten there yet. The hardware store didn't seem to be running out of anything. They had everything I was looking for this afternoon. I got the stuff I needed to fix the back wall of the barn and I also bought the parts to fix that furnace so we won't have to worry about that this winter."

Muriel managed a nervous smile. "It will be good to have that furnace fixed. I hear that it's supposed to be a very cold winter."

Muriel brought the plates to the table and everybody began to eat. After dinner, Eustace went into the living room turning on the tv as he sat down in his chair while Muriel filled three bowls with Happy Plums and spooned whipped cream over them. Muriel brought two bowls in setting one down on the table by Eustace as she made her way to her rocking chair with her bowl. Courage carried his bowl in from the kitchen and made himself comfortable on the rug at Muriel's feet. Everybody was silently eating their dessert as the the movie was interuupted by a special news report.

"Turn it up Eustace!" Muriel had set her bowl down as the reporter, who was standing in front of the Nowhere Electric Company began to speak. "I am here at the Nowhere Electric Company where utility workers are trying to sort out reports of several power outages. So far the cause of the power outages has not been found and several homes are still without electricity." The reporter went on to interview several people who worked for the Nowhere Electric Company who weren't really able to say much more than what the reporter had already said. Finally a commercial came on.

Eustace sneered at the tv. "Now aren't you glad we have that windmill Muriel? See, I told you it would save us a lot of trouble not to mention money."

Muriel nodded absently. "Yes I am Eustace. I just wonder... "

She was cut off by another special news report this time the reporter was standing in front of the police station. "Police are trying to solve a mystery tonight. Several people have called to report that somebody tried to break into their houses. One couple who called said that somebody was trying to get in their front door while they were on the phone to police. At another home somebody tried to break into a house while the family sat in the front room watching television. Others say that somebody tried to get the door open but left after a few seconds. Several people reported seeing a large shadowy figure on their front porches or out in their yards but all of them said it was too dark to get a good look at the person. The Nowhere Police department is advising the residents of Nowhere to lock all doors and windows and stay inside. They are also asking residents to call police if they see any suspicious people in their neighborhoods."

Courage whimpered softly as Muriel and Eustace just silently stared at the tv screen. Finally the movie came back on as everybody finished their Happy Plums. Muriel collected the dessert bowls and went into the kitchen leaving the door open. Eustace got up motioning to Courage to follow him. They went outside to the barn where Eustace picked through one of the boxes and took out two smaller boxes. Then he pointed to his toolbox. "Hey dog, would you get that for me?"

Courage pickedup the toolbox and follwed Eustace back into the house. The pink dog watched as Eustace opened one of the small boxes taking out something that looked like a small white radio. Muriel came into the room as Eustace was attaching the device to the front door.

"What are you doing Eustace?"

"I bought these at the hardware store. They're alarms that attach to the doors. I figured that they might come in handy."

Muriel nodded grateful for the extra security after that last news report. She sat back down in her rocking chair to watch the news.

Eustace finished putting the alarm on the front door, installed the batteries, then turned the device on and opened the door to test it. Instantly the house was filled with a loud wavy siren sound. Eustace quickly closed the door. "It works!" he said happily and went into the kitchen with the second box. "Hey dog! Come in here with me for a minute while I do this!"

Courage got up and went into the kitchen while Eustace put the second alarm on the back door then put the batteries in and tested it. Courage was helping Eustace clean up the boxes and tools when Muriel called from the living room.

"Eustace! Courage! Come in here. You won't believe this!"

Eustace and Courage raced into the living room in time to hear the last bit of a news story. The reporter was speaking excitedly. "Nobody was hurt but several of the people who witnessed the incident said they were leaving town until this mystery is solved. To repeat, the Main Street Theater was closed tonight after several people were frightened by a large shadowy figure in the theater as they watched the movie.

Police have no leads and are advising that everybody stay inside with all doors and windows locked."

"Good thing I got those alarms tonight although I doubt that whoever is causing all the trouble in town will come all the way out here!" Eustace turned and went back into the kitchen to finish cleaning up the mess.

Courage jumped into Muriel's lap and curled up to rest. Muriel softly petted Courage's back. "Courage, do ye think that whatever it is causing all that trouble in town will come out here?"

Courage looked up at her and shook his head then curled back up closing his eyes as if he were trying to sleep. But sleep was the last thing on Courage's mind. He was too busing thinking about what he had seen at the park wondering what had caused that strange shadow. That spooky feeling was coming back and he really wasn't looking forward to bedtime.

After cleaning up the rest of his tools, Eustace put the toolbox in the hall closet then went upstairs. He returned a few minutes later with two comfortable looking quilts. He handed one quilt to Muriel and settled down in his chair covering himself with the other. Nobody had mentioned it but none of them wanted to go upstairs to sleep tonight. It felt much safer down here with the lights and the tv on.

Muriel went to the linen closet and got a pillow then sat back down in her rocking chair covered by the quilt with her head resting on the pillow. Courage curled back up in her lap as Muriel picked up the tv remote to find a good movie to watch. Soon everybody was asleep.

It was just past midnight when they were all awakened by a loud noise on the front porch. Courage lept off of Muriel's lap and ran to look out the window but saw nothing. Eustace got up out of his chair and followed Courage to the window. Even with the porchlight on it seemed unusually dark outside. Muriel wrapped her quilt tightly around her as she watched Courage and Eustace from her rocking chair.

Suddenly there was a loud noise in the kitchen then the alarm that Eustace had put on the back door went off! Courage was so scared that he turned inside out for a second! Muriel shrieked and got up from her rocking chair while Eustace ran for the kitchen door. Courage followed close behind Eustace expecting to find the back door wide open with some dark, shadowy monster standing there but he was suprised to find the back door closed tight.

Eustace went over and reset the alarm then looked out the kitchen window. "It's so dark out there I can't see anything!"

Courage stood behind Eustace shivering in fear and was startled so badly when Muriel came into the kitchen that he split into several smaller versions of himself which ran around the kitchen until they all collided turning back into one normal sized pink dog!

Muriel waited for Courage to return to normal before speaking. "Did you see anybody out there Eustace?"

Eustace shook his head. "It's too dark out there. But I bet whoever it was got frightened away by the alarm. Come on, let's go back into the living room."

They all went back into the living room and sat down as Muriel changed the channel on the tv. The news was on and there were several reports of strange happenings in the town of Nowhere. Several people had called police to report somebody trying to break into their houses. Some said that they saw a large shadowy figure ouside on their porches or in their front yards. Workers for the Nowhere Electric Company reported seeing a large shadowy figure standing near a downed power line that they were sent to repair. Still the police had no leads and were continuing to advise the people to stay indoors and keep their doors and windows locked.

It seemed like forever when Courage finally managed to dose back off. He was sleeping peacefully when he was awakened by a strange noise. He looked around but everything was quiet and that awful creepy feeling was in the air. Muriel and Eustace were both asleep. Courage looked over at the televison to see that it was still on but there was no sound. All of his hair was standing on end as he carefully slid off of Muriel's lap and onto the floor making his way toward the television. Suddenly the sound came back on startling the poor dog so badly that he melted into a frightened puddle on the floor. The sound of the tv woke Muriel up. She reached for the remote and changed the channels until she found another movie.

Courage returned to his normal shape and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. When he came back into the living room, Muriel was asleep again. Courage didn't want to wake her so he curled up on the rug at her feet. He was almost asleep again when he heard a noise on the front porch. Shivering with fear, Courage went to the window and looked out half expecting to see nothing. At first he didn't see anything and was about to go back to his spot on the rug when something out in the yard caught his eye. A few feet from the porch stood a large shadowy figure that looked almost as if it had wings! Courage screamed in fear waking both Eustace and Muriel up.

Eustace ran to the window but the figure had disappeard. He looked down at Courage. "What did you see dog?"

Courage tried to explain but, of course, Eustace didn't understand him. Finally, Courage turned himself into an exact image of what he had seen. Eustace watched open-mouthed then turned to Muriel who just stared back at him. Eustace looked back out the window but it seemed that whatever it was that Courage had seen was gone.

"I guess whatever it was has gone now. Maybe it's on its way back to Nowhere."

Courage looked back up at Eustace not entirely convinced that he was right but Eustace had returned to his chair and had settled down to go back to sleep. Muriel had wrapped herself back up in the quilt and had closed her eyes. Courage slowly retreated from the window. The last thing he felt like doing was trying to go back to sleep! There was still several more hours until daylight and Courage didn't know how he was going to make it through the rest of this night. After pacing around the living room for several minutes he headed toward the staircase.


	6. The Demon

Courage quietly made his way up the stairs to his attic room and began to look for something in his pocket. After a couple of minutes, he pulled out a piece of metal with some writing on it. He was shaking so bad that he could barely read the words but he forced himself to calm down enough to read the spell out loud. He nervousely pace the room and waited. Soon the room was filled with several small lights and one larger light that slowly took the form of 13 ghostly children and their schoolteacher, Mr. Worth.

The children happily surrounded Courage who was wagging his tail enjoying the attention. Finally, all the the children had said hello to Courage and everybody settled down.

Mr. Worth smiled down at Courage. "Hello, Courage!"

Courage wagged his tail happy to see his friend. He was about to try to explain the strange events and the scary shadowy figure when the alarm on the front door went off. Courage raced toward the staircase followed by the tall ghost who motioned for the children to stay in the attic room.

When Courage got half-way down the staircase, he saw that the front door was wide open! Both Muriel and Eustace were standing in the middle of the livingroom frozen in fear as a dark shadowy figure loomed in the doorway!

"Oh my --- !" Mr. Worth grabbed Courage and pulled him back up the staircase and shoved him into the attic room. "Stay here!" the ghost commanded then left the room. Courage could hear a commotion downstairs. He tried to get out the attic door to protect Muriel but was held back by the children.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Mr. Worth returned. "It's gone."

"What about Muriel and Eustace?" Courage's words were understood clearly by the ghost.

"They're okay. Just frightened."

"Courage!" Muriel's voice frantically called from the living room. Courage ran downstairs to let her know that he was okay. Eustace was busy trying to get the front door to close but it was badly broken.

Eustace looked down at Courage. "Don't just stand there, get my tools from the hall closet."

Courage ran over to the hall closet, grabbed the toolbox and took it to Eustace. Eustace opened the toolbox taking out a hammer and some nails. Soon the front door was nailed back together and Eustace was able to get it to shut again. Muriel sat back down in her rocking chair but it was obvious from the look of fear on her face that she was not going back to sleep. Eustace went to check on the kitchen door then returned to his chair.

"What was that thing, Eustace!" Muriel's voice was trembling as she spoke.

"I wish I knew." Eustace said quietly, "Maybe it was just some wierdo in a costume trying to scare us."

"Should we call the police?"

Eustace shook his head. "The police probably too busy answering all the calls from the other people that wierdo has been scaring."

Muriel thought about it. "Eustace, if that was a person, then how did he get from Nowhere to here so quickly? I didn't hear any car or anything when he left."

Eustace thought it over carefully before answering. "Who knows, maybe he parked his car down the road a bit. Whoever it is is gone now so let's try and forget about this for a while okay, Muriel? There has got to be something on tv." Eustace turned his attention toward the tv hoping that Muriel didn't notice that he was visibly shaking. It was true, whatever it was that had broken the door did not have a car. Eustace was certain of that because he had listened for a car engine to let him know that the person had left. But instead of a car, he heard something that sounded like giant wings flapping.

Muriel had turned her attention toward the televison and was changing the channels trying to find something to watch. Soon, both Muriel and Eustace were watching a movie. This gave Courage the chance to sneak back upstairs to the attic.

When he got back into the attic room, Mr. Worth was standing in the middle of the room. The children had formed a circle around him and were chanting something. Courage listened to the chant. It was different than the prayer of protection that he had heard the children chant before but somehow it made the room feel safer. After a few minutes the children stopped chanting. Some of them moved to various corners of the room as if standing guard while the others sat down in the middle of the room to rest.

Mr. Worth called Courage over to where he was standing. "How long has that thing been here?"

Courage thought for a moment then went over to the computer that sat in the corner of the room and turned it on. A few seconds later a sarcastic sound voice came from the computer. "What do _you_ want?" Courage ignored the voice and began to type. Soon the computerized voice had explained about the events of the last few days, Eustace's bad dreams, the trip to Nowhere, the strange things that had happened at the park, the strange events in Nowhere, and everything that had happened that night.

The ghost listened intently to every word then moved over to stare out the window for a few moments "I can't say for certain what that thing that broke down your door was, but I do know it was very powerful and definately evil."

Courage looked up at the ghost then turned back to the computer and began to type again. "That thing has been seen in Nowhere and all the way out here. Do you think there could be more than one of them?"

Mr. Worth thought it over. "It's possible. Can you tell me exactly what the news reports said?"

Courage had a better idea. A quick search on the internet turned up the website for Nowhere's news channel. On the front page of the website were several stories of sightings of a strange shadowy figure. Two people said that it appeared that this strange person or creature had wings. Courage shivered when he read this. He looked up at the ghost and tried to think as loudly as he could while he spoke. "I saw that thing in our yard earlier tonight. I think it does have wings."

Mr. Worth concentrated on Courage, reading the dog's mind while listening carefully to what Courage was saying. "Are you sure?"

Courage shrugged. "It looked like it had wings but it was too dark to get a good look at it."

The tall ghost considered what courage had said. "Courage, can you show me what you saw?"

"Uh-huh!" Courage got up from the chair and after a moment turned himself into a perfect likeness of what he saw.

The children all turned a pale white - much paler than their normal color. Mr. Worth just stared at Courage then collapsed into the chair in front of the computer. The ghost's voice was shaky and barely audible. "I wasn't completely sure when I saw it in your doorway earlier. It was standing back and I couldn't get a good look at it. I sensed the evil so I didn't want to go any closer." The ghost rose to his feet and moved to the window then paced back to the center of the room and sat down on the floor motioning the children to come sit by him. Finally he looked up at Courage. "I have never run into a demon before so I cannot be absolutely sure that the thing that is terrorizing the town and the thing that broke your door down is a demon but ... " The ghost's voice trailed off.

Courage shrugged. He had seen a demon once before. In fact, Muriel had been possessed by one. It was a little scary but they were able to get rid of the demon even if Eustace had been possessed in the process. He went to the computer and started typing.

Mr. Worth listened to the computer voice and then shook his head. "What I saw out there is very powerful, Courage and I doubt it would be so easy to get rid of."

One of the little girls spoke up. "Why do you think that thing is here, Mr. Worth? I mean, why is it scaring everybody?"

Mr. Worth shrugged. "I don't know Dianne."

"Why did it just leave instead of coming in?" one of the little boys asked.

"Good question, Stephen. That was strage that it just stood there in the doorway for a few moments then just backed away and left."

"Do you think it might have been scared of you?" another one of the boys asked.

Mr. Worth shook his head. "I doubt it Andrew. That thing is way to powerful to worry about me. In fact, that thing could easily overpower me."

All of the children stared wide-eyed at their teacher. Finally Stephen asked, "What are we going to do? If we stay here to help Courage, it might destroy us all but we can't just leave Courage and his family here alone!"

The teacher sighed.. "There is no safe place with that demon out there so it would be useless to leave anyway because there is nowhere to run to. We could go back to the tomb but if that thing becomes powerful enough, then the first place it will look for wandering spirits is the graveyard. We cannot go up to the mountain because we would be sitting ducks up there. The only thing we can do is stay here until we come up with a plan. Believe it or not, this house is actually one of the safest places we can stay at the moment. The demon doesn't seem to want to enter the house so I don't think it will come in here after us - at least not for a while anyway."

Courage looked at his friends then down at the ground. He never intended to put them in any danger. He felt awful for calling his friends into this nightmare.

Mr. Worth looked over at Courage and, after reading the little dog's mind, he called the little dog over and looked him in the eye. "Courage, this is not your fault. We would have ran into that demon sooner or later even if you hadn't summoned us for help. It is better that we are all together right now. There is safety in numbers even when nobody feels safe."

"Courage?" Muriel's voice echoed up the stairway.

"I wonder if we should let her know that we're here?" one of the girls asked.

Mr. Worth nodded. "It might make her feel safer if she knows that we're here. Courage, call Muriel up here."

Courage peeked his head out the door and called to Muriel. A few seconds later, Muriel timidly made her way up the stairs and stepped into the attic room.


	7. Searching For Answers

Courage wagged his tail and motioned for Muriel to sit down in the chair. The ghosts had faded out to keep from surprising Muriel as she walked into the room. Once Muriel had sat down, Courage took her hand in one paw to keep her calm then gestured to the center of the room with his other paw. Slowly, Mr. Worth appeared.

"Hello, Muriel, do you remember me?"

"Oh my! Of course I remember you. How could I forget such a charming gentleman as you? How are ye David?"

Mr. Worth smiled, blushing slightly. "I am well, Muriel, and you?"

"I've seen better times, David." Muriel sighed.

"Courage has told me all about it and I was here when your front door was busted in last night."

Muriel looked up at the ghost with pleading eyes. "Can ye tell me what is going on here? Who was that and why are they bothering us?"

Mr. Worth carefully considered his words before answering. "We have no idea what's going on yet. Courage called us to see if we could help and we will do anything we can to help. But, until we know more, the only thing we can do is stick together and try not to be afraid."

One by one the children materialized and said hello to Muiel. Muriel smiled cheerfully at the children.

Courage could see that Muriel was feeling better already.

"Muriel?" Eustace called from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll be right there Eustace." Muriel rose to her feet. "I better get breakfast started. Do any of you want anything?"

The children looked up at Mr. Worth who smiled down at them and nodded.

One of the girls stepped forward. "Do you have any cookies?"

"I'll bake some up for you." Muriel answered cheerfully. "Would you like some coffee David?"

The tall ghost smiled. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble."

Muriel smiled. "It'll be no trouble at all. I'll have Courage bring some up to you."

Muriel and Courage left the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen. The sun was already shining brightly and the night of terror was beginning to seem like nothing more than a bad dream.

Muriel busied herself in front of the stove while Courage went outside to look for Eustace. He found Eustace in the barn searching through the boxes from the hardware store.

Eustace looked up as Courage walked into the barn. "Hey dog, what have you been up to? Did that thing scare you away from the living room last night?"

Courage nodded then hesitated. He wanted to tell Eustace that he hadn't abandoned him and Muriel but he wasn't sure how Eustace would react if he knew about the ghosts.

"I don't blame you dog but it seems safer in the living room to me. To tell you the truth, I would get the creeps being alone in the attic with that thing hanging around."

Courage hesitated again unable to think of what to say.

Eustace noticed the pink dog's hesitation but figured that it was because Courage had trouble communicating with him. "I really wish I could understand you sometimes dog. It would make life so much easier."

Courage gave Eustace a toothy grin and wagged his tail.

Eustace turned his attention back to the box he was searching through then pulled out a box of long nails, a bottle of woodglue, and a large clamp. He motioned over to a pile of boards in the corner. "Grab a few of those for me would you dog?"

Courage picked up an armload of boards and followed Eustace back toward the house. Eustace motioned for Courage to drop the boards on the front porch just as Muriel called Courage to come help with breakfast.

Eustace turned his attention to fixing and reinforcing the front door while Courage went into the kitchen to help Muriel. A few seconds later, the kitchen door slowly opened as Courage peeked out to make sure it was safe before sneaking upstairs with a thermos full of coffee, a mug, and a plate of cookies.

The children were all playing quietly in the attic room when Courage opened the door. Instantly he was surrounded by ghostly hands reaching for the plate of cookies. Mr. Worth got up from where he had been sitting in front of the computer to quickly glide over to help Courage. The tall ghost took the plate of cookies and set it down on the cot then gratefully took the thermos and cup. A swarm of ghostly children had followed the plate of cookies and now circled the cot to devour the treats. Courage grinned over at the children then looked curiously over at the computer screen.

The tall ghost returned to his seat in front of the computer and motioned for Courage to come look. "I've been doing a search on the history of Nowhere looking for anything unusual such as demons or hauntings. I found a few interesting links I still need to check up on. I also found this." he opened a page on the screen then moved back so Courage could take a look.

The page had a story about Mr. Worth and the children. Courage began to read out loud, "The freak storm has brought several inches of show up in the mountains where school teacher, David Worth took a group of students for a week-end hike. Rescuers are attempting to reach the stranded hikers but, so far, the storm has kept them from getting up to the mountain trail that the teacher and his students were hiking on. David Worth's wife, Sarah, remains confident that her husband and the children are okay saying that her husband has been up that mountain many times before and is very familiar with the trail that he and the children were on. Parent's of the thirteen school children are also very confident that the children and their teacher will return safely."

Mr. Worth went to another page and Courage started reading again. "A group of searchers has found what they believe was the place where teacher David Worth and his students tried to wait out the freak winter storm that claimed their lives back in early March. The searchers found human bones and bits of clothing that matched the descriptions of what the teacher and the children were wearing. Unusually cold temperatures and heavy snow kept searchers from finding the spot until last week when the snow finally began to melt."

Courage stopped reading and looked up at his friend. There was a deep sadness in the ghost's eyes. Courage whined softly up at his friend.

"I'm okay Courage. It's just a little strange reading this. I can't help but wonder what the children's parents went through. And Sarah ... "

Courage jumped up into Mr. Worth's lap to give him a hug. The ghost laughed and hugged the little dog back. "You truly are man's best friend. Thank-you Courage."

Courage wagged his tail. He jumped down from the ghost's lap just as footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Eustace's voice called out. "Courage? Are you up here? Muriel wants you to come down for breakfast!"

Courage quickly made his way to the door. He intended to slip out before Eustace could get a look in the room but Eustace was standing right outside the door as he opened it. Eustace glanced into the room but the ghosts had turned invisible so he didn't see them. "Why are you spending so much time up here dog?"

Courage pointed toward the computer.

"Oh, playing computer games?"

Courage shook his head then turned into an image of the demon they had seen last night then pointed to the computer then turned into something that resembled an encyclopedia.

Eustace puzzled over the series of charades then nodded. "I see, you are using the computer to try to find out about that thing we saw!"

Courage nearly fell flat on the floor in surprise that Eustace had understood what he was trying to tell him.

He quickly nodded. "Uh-huh!"

"So, have you found out anything yet?"

Courge thought about it for a moment then just shook his head looking defeated.

"Well, don't give up. I don't want to scare Muriel so I haven't said anything but I had more of those dreams last night .. and ... one of them... something bad happens... something happens to Muriel. We've got to figure out what is going on here dog. I don't want to lose Muriel."

Courage looked up at Eustace with a mixture of total shock and worry.

"I know ... I don't act very nice to either you or Muriel but .. that's not how I feel." Eustace looked away then turned back toward the stairs. "Enough of this. Come on dog. Muriel will be wondering what's happened to us!"

Courage followed behind Eustace closing the door as several very surprised looking ghosts reappeared in the room. "Maybe he's not such a jerk after all!" one of the girls blurted out.

Mr. Worth looked over at her. "Sometimes people change when they realize that they could lose someone they love."

"Do you think it will last?"

Mr. Worth chuckled. "I doubt it. Old habits die hard. I'm sure that as soon as all this is over the old man will return to normal." The ghost turned his attention back to the computer as the children settled down to rest for the day.

Downstairs, Courage and Eustace joined Muriel at the kitchen table for breakfast. They ate silently each lost on their own train of thought. After breakfast, Eustace went over to the back door and began to examine it. He opened the door then froze. Courage looked over at Eustace and saw the old man staring at something on the outside of the back door. He got up to see what Eustace was staring at then froze in place all of his fur turning white.

Eustace looked down at the dog then quickly pulled him outside closing the door so Muriel wouldn't see what was going on. "Careful dog. Don't let on that there is anything wrong. We don't want to scare Muriel any more than she already is."

Courage looked up at Eustace then looked back at the door. There were large deep claw marks all over the door around the broken doorknob.

"I wonder what could have done something like this?" Eustace began to study the ground around the back porch. Suddenly he stopped. "Hey dog, come look at this!" Courage looked down and nearly fainted. The footprints looked like a cross between a human and a bird with long toes and large claws.

Eustace looked nervousely up at the door then back at Courage. "Hey dog, can you show me again what you saw outside last night?"

Courage gulped and turned himself into a perfect image of the shadowy figure he saw out in the yard - - complete with large wings.

Eustace stared at him. "Are you sure that's what you saw?"

Courage nodded.

"That wasn't somebody in a costume was it dog?"

Courage just shook his head.

A ghostly figure was watching them from the open attic window above listening to every word. Slowly Mr. Worth turned away from the window to look back at the computer screen. He sighed and looked up toward the sky. "We can't deal with this on our own. Please help us." The ghost pleaded before slumping down in the chair again. He knew that they all had to stick together. He had to talk to Eustace.

Courage helped Eustace fix the back door then went into the living room to check on Muriel. He found Muriel fast asleep in her rocking chair so he went upstairs to see if Mr. Worth had found anything out. He went into the attic room and found Mr. Worth staring out the window.

The ghost didn't even turn around as Courage entered the room. "I need to talk to Eustace and I need to see those footprints."

Courage nodded and motioned for the ghost to follow him downstairs. They quietly snuck past Muriel to avoid waking her up then made their way into the kitchen. Courage motioned for Mr. Worth to wait while he went outside to get Eustace. When Courage opened the door, he saw to his horror that Eustace had used the garden rake to erase most of the footprints. The dog quickly ran over and tried to get Eustace's attention.

Eustace stopped raking and looked down at him. "I don't want Muriel to see these."

Courage frantically grabbed Eustace's arm pulling him toward the back door.

"Is something wrong with Muriel?"

Courage shook his head and tried to figure out how to tell Eustace what he wanted to say.

Eustace seemded to understand. "Well, show me what you want to show me and be quick about it!"

Courage led Eustace into the kitchen where Mr. Worth was waiting. The old farmer's jaw dropped as he saw the ghost standing there. Courage went over to stand next to Mr. Worth to show Eustace that the ghost was a friend.

After a moment or two, Eustace recovered from the shock and was able to speak. "I take it he's a friend of yours dog?"

Courage nodded, "Uh-huh!"

Mr. Worth smiled softly. "Hello Eustace, my name is David." he reached out to shake Eustace's hand.

Eustace hesitantly shook the ghost's hand.

"I need to look at those footprints Eustace."

Eustace quietly lead the ghost outside to show him what was left of the footprints.

Mr. Worth knelt down to get a close look at the footprints. " ------- ----!" He looked over at Courage, who seemed shocked at the ghost's choice of words, then up at Eustace. "This doesn't look good at all."

"Tell me something I don't know!" Eustace snapped impatiently.

Mr. Worth stood up turning to face Eustace. "I understand you have been having some bad dreams lately."

Eustace picked the rake back up and began to erase the rest of the footprints. "They started about a week ago. At first I just dreamed that something was watching us. Then the dreams started getting worse. Last night I dreamed that something horrible took Muriel away and..." The old man stopped.

Mr. Worth looked over at Courage. "Have you been having nightmares too?"

Courage shook his head.

Eustace nodded toward Courage. "He and Muriel have both been jumpy and nervous for the last few days now. So have I. It's been getting worse every day. Two nights ago we all started sleeping in the living room."

Mr. Worth considered what Eustace had just told him. "Sounds like this demon has been around for a few days then."

"Demon?"

"Yes, demon. At least that's what it appears to be." Mr. Worth looked around nervously. "In fact, I think it's fairly close by as we speak."

Both Courage and Eustace stared wide-eyed at Mr. Worth for a split second then they all darted into the house locking the door behind them. Eustace took a moment to catch his breath then turned to Mr. Worth. "I thought these things only came out at night!"

Mr. Worth looked back at Eustace. "These things?"

"You know, ghosts, ghouls, demons..."

Mr. Worth chuckled. "You're forgetting Eustace, I am a ghost and I am out in the daylight!"

Eustace gave the ghost a sheepish grin. "Oh yeah... that's right. But how come people only seem to see ghosts and the like at night?"

Mr. Worth shrugged. "Could be several reasons. We like to keep ourselves hidden so it's easier to rest in the day and come out at night when it's less likely that anybody will see us. Also, some supernatural beings feed on fear and most people are more susceptible to fear when it is dark."

Eustace sat down at the table. "Do you think that thing out there feeds on fear?

"I am almost certain of it. That's probably why it is out and about terrorizing the town instead of trying to keep itself hidden."

Their conversation was interrupted by Muriel calling from the living room. "Eustace, Courage! Come look at this!"

The three of them rushed into the living room where Muriel was watching the news. A nervous looking reporter was standing in front of the gates to the Nowhere cemetary. "Several gravestones have been knocked over. Some of the graves look as if a large animal has been digging at them. Several people reported seeing a large shadowy winged creature standing by the gates of the cemetary last night but all said that it was to dark for them to be able to get a good look at it."

Eustace looked puzzled. "How is that thing getting all the way from Nowhere to here and back again so quickly?"

Mr. Worth and Courage looked at each other. Courage shivered as Mr. Worth answered Eustace's question. "Could be that there is more than one of them."

Muriel looked up at Eustace then at the ghost and back to Eustace. "Thing? More than one of them? Could somebody _please_ tell me what is going on here?"

Eustace looked over at Mr. Worth who turned to Muriel and carefully began to explain the situation. "To tell the truth, Muriel, we still don't have a clue as to what is going on here. We're not sure if whoever it is that is causing all this trouble is even human. The only thing that is certain is that we will all have to stick together and try not to be afraid."

Courage looked up to see the children on the staircase looking down at them. He pulled on Mr. Worth's pant leg to get the ghost's attention then pointed toward the stairs. The ghost looked up at the children and motioned for them to come down. The children silently came down the stairs into the livingroom as a suprised Eustace stared at them.

Mr. Worth gave Eustace an amused smile. "These are my students. Children, introduce yourselves."

One by one the thirteen small ghosts introduced themselves.

Eustace nodded gruffly at the children then looked over at their teacher. "I think I know who you are now. You're the ones who got lost up on that mountain!"

Mr. Worth looked down. "We weren't actually lost. I mean, we knew where we were. It's just that storm came out of nowhere and..."

Eustace nodded thoughtfully. "That was a record breaking storm if I remember my history right. My grandpappy was also a farmer and he used to talk about that storm every spring when he was getting ready for planting. He used to say, 'I hope that we don't get another storm like the one that destroyed my pappy's farm back in 18 --' whatever year that was. He never could remember the year and it was always  
different each time he talked about it." Eustace chuckled as he thought about his absent minded grandfather.

Mr. Worth nodded. "It was a very cold spring. That year the snow didn't begin to melt until early in the summertime."

The news came back on and the reporter continued to talk about the vandalism in the cemetary. When the news was over, Mr. Worth motioned to Courage to follow him upstairs. "We need to see if we can find out anything more on the computer."

Eustace looked over at the ghost. "Do you think the library might have more information?"

Mr. Worth thought about it. "That's a good idea! Courage, will you come with me?"

Courage nodded and wagged his tail and held on to the hand that Mr. Worth offered him.

Mr. Worth turned to the children. "All of you stay here. Call me if you need me. Hopefully we won't be gone long."

The children nodded as Mr. Worth and Courage disappeared while Eustace and Muriel stared wide-eyed in stunned amazement.


	8. A Trip to the Library

The children gathered around the tv as Muiel searched for some cartoons for them to watch. Eustace went back into the kitchen to fix up the back door so that Muriel wouldn't see the large claw marks. One of the older boys wandered back to where Eustace was working. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Eustace was startled at first but quickly recovered. "Can you tell when one of those things is hanging around here?"

The boy nodded. "I can feel it when there is another presence."

"Good. You can help by keeping watch while I work out here. I still want to fix this cellar door so that nothing can get in there without me knowing about it."

The small ghost followed Eustace out to the cellar to keep watch while Eustace put a strong lock on the cellar door and attached one of the small alarms to the door so that he would hear if somebody opened it.

When Eustace was finished with the cellar door, the little ghost to followed him out to the barn and kept watch as he secured the barn door with several heavy boards. Then Eustace moved his truck close to the front porch. Finally, the two of them went back into the house where Muriel was busy fixing lunch.

The children nibbled on cookies while Muriel and Eustace ate sandwiches. Then two of the little girls helped Muriel clean up the kitchen while Eustace went in to read the paper. The other children moved to a corner and began talking until the girls rejoined them. Then four of the children stood watch while the others faded out to rest. Muriel came back in to watch tv and noticed that all except for four of the ghosts were gone.

"Where are the others?

"They're all resting Ma'am. We're staying awake to keep watch until it's our turn to rest."

"Oh, I see." Muriel smiled gently at the little ghost. "Well, why don't the four of you get some rest while we keep watch?"

The four ghosts talked it over then one of the little boys answered. "That's nice of you to offer Ma'am but we can see and feel things that you can't. Also, to wake us up you would have to know how to summon us."

Eustace had put down his newspaper and was listnening to the conversation. "Does that dog summon you or do you all live in our attic?"

The four children looked at each other as if silently communicating then the little boy answered. "We usually stay in the cemetary or up on the mountain trail where we died. Courage has a spell to summon Mr. Worth. The same spell can summon us but only if Mr. Worth allows us or asks us to answer the summons."

Eustace looked puzzled. "How did the dog get that spell?"

Again the little ghosts appeared to be communicating for a few moments before the little boy answered

Eustace's question. "Mr. Worth asked that lady, I think her name is Shirley, to make the spell for Courage after Courage returned the necklace that had been stolen from us."

"Where did the dog get the necklace?"

"He found it burried in the yard. We had been searching for the necklace for a long time. We could feel that Courage had it. He went to Shirley to find out why we were haunting him and the two of you. Shirley explained to him that we were after our necklace so he it back to us. Then Mr. Worth asked Shirley to create the spell for Courage as our way of saying thank-you."

Eustace nodded. "You were the kids who were causing so much trouble a few months ago weren't you?"

The boy nodded. "We didn't mean to cause any trouble. We just wanted to get our necklace back."

"What's so special about that necklace?"

The boy studied Eustace for a few moments then finally answered. "The necklace was given to us right after we were all burried together in the tomb. We were stuck here on earth but we we're still very young and had almost no power. Other stonger, evil spirits kept threatening us and we were all afraid even though Mr. Worth tried to protect us. People kept hearing our cries for help and a medium, Shirley's grandmother I think, made the necklace for us. It has a pendant with a prayer / spell of protection on one side and symbols of protection on the other side. We learned the prayer of protection which use that a lot but the symbols also help protect us."

"So, where's the necklace now?"

"Mr. Worth wears it."

Eustace nodded and returned to his newspaper as the four children moved to different corners of the room.

Meanwhile, Courage and Mr. Worth appeared in front of the library and slipped quietly inside with Mr. Worth staying invisible. After a long search of various books of the town's history, they still had no answers. Mr. Worth began to study various old newspapers while Courage began reading through various books on the occult. After several hours of searching they still had no answers. They were almost ready to give up when Courage stumbled upon a book with a picture of a demon similar to the one he saw. He excitely took the book to Mr. Worth who silently read a couple of pages then handed the book back to Courage.

"According to this book, that particular type of demon has to be summoned in order to walk the earth. They are usually summoned in pairs which means that there are at least two of them."

Courage gulped and shivered wondering who would summon something like that, how many of them had they summoned and, for the love of all that is good in heaven and on earth, WHY?

Mr. Worth seemed to read the little dog's mind. "Well it doesn't appear that there that many of them or things would be much worse. As far as who brought them here and why, those are very good questions that I really wish I had answers to."

Courage looked up at his friend and spoke as clearly as he could. "Did the book say how to get rid of them?"

Mr. Worth listened carefully to Courage then shook his head. "No, it didn't say how to get rid of them. But it did say that they are fairly weak at first then slowly gain power as they feed off of fear. These demons have been around for several days now. I can sense that they have become fairly powerful -- at least the one that came to your house last night was. But it wasn't so powerful that it could actually hurt somebody - not yet anyway. We have to figure out what to do very soon before they gain too much power. If they get too strong there is no telling what they could do."

Courage shivered once again as he put the book back in it's place. The two searched the library for a little while longer then finally decided to leave. Instead of just teleporting back to Courage's house, Mr. Worth wanted to walk back through town. Courage agreed that a nice walk might be just what he needed so they made their way down Main street with Mr. Worth staying invisible as he glided by Courage's side. Suddenly, Mr. Worth stopped. He bacame visible just long enough to point to a majestic old building then disappeared as Courage followed him inside an old church. Since they were alone, Mr. Worth became visible again as he glided toward the altar. Courage watched in amazement wondering how his friend could enter a church. Mr. Worth read Corage's mind and answered the pink dog's unspoken question.

"Since I am not evil, in fact I am quite the opposite, I can freely enter a church. Actually, I am encouraged to come in here although I don't come in very often."

Courage was puzzled as he did not completely understand things like God or churches but one thing he did know was that he felt completely safe here. He jumped up on a pew as Mr. Worth approached the altar and knelt down.

After a few minutes, Mr. Worth rose. As they left the building, the tall ghost began to speak. "This whole thing has me very worried Courage. Those demons are far to powerful for me to even think of trying to fight and they are only going to get more powerful. They have  
already gone into the cemetary which means that it is no longer safe for the children and I to return there. Soon, there won't be a safe place except for this church. And then what? Unless we get some help, we could all be doomed."

Courage looked back at the church then up at his friend.

"I prayed for help but the answers haven't come yet. I have been given a different prayer for protection for the children to use. It will only keep safe from the demons for a little while longer but at least it buys us some time."

Courage remembered the new chant he had heard the children use up in the attic. He let himself think about it as loudly and clearly as he possibly could.

Mr. Worth read Courage's mind. "That was one I came up with a few nights ago. Something just felt wrong. The prayer of protection that we normally use just wasn't enough to take that feeling away so I thought about it and came up with a new one. The new one has elements of the Lord's prayer along with parts of the other spell. Come to think of it, I think we probably felt the presence of those things when they first appeared just like you, Muriel, and Eustace did." The ghost stopped suddenly. "One of those things is very close to us right now! Let's get back to the church where we're safe!"

Since it wasn't safe for them to just teleport to the church, the two ran as fast as they could back into the building.

Back at Courage's house, Muriel was beginning to worry. "What is taking them so long? I thought they would be back in time for lunch."

Eustace got up to put his newspaper in the recycling container then returned to his chair. "I'm sure they're just fine Muriel. Probably still going through books at the library."

"I hope you're right Eustace." Muriel rose from her chair and went into the kitchen.

Eustace waited until the kitchen door was closed then motioned to one of the little ghosts to come closer.

A little girl glided silently over to Eustace.

"Is there any way you can find out if the teacher and Courage are okay?"

The girl looked back at the others three ghosts who glided over to where she was. One of the boys answered Eustace. "We can try to summon him. But he might be angry if he is busy and we summon him when we don't need him."

"Is there any way one of you can go to where he is to see if everything is okay?"

All four of the ghosts shook their heads. One of the little girls explained. "Mr. Worth would really be angry if we did that. We're never supposed to split up and travel alone without his permission."

Eustace nodded. "I see."

The oldest one of the boys materialized and glided over to where the other four children were standing. "If Mr. Worth doesn't return soon then we'll try to summon him. If he doesn't answer then three of us will go looking for him."

The other four children stared silently over at the oldest boy then nodded.

Eustace looked out the window. "It will be dark in a couple of hours so we can't wait to much longer."

The little ghosts all nodded in agreement then four of them disappeared while three others appeared to take their places standing watch.

Back at the church, Courage and Mr. Worth stared nervously out the window. "We have to get back to your house soon Courage. The children are probably worried about me and I am certain that Muriel is worried about you."

Courage looked up at his friend wondering why they couldn't just teleport like they usually did.

Mr. Worth answered the dog's unspoken question. "It isn't safe to teleport with one of those things too close by. It could easily grab me and you both and carry us away to another dimension."

Courage whiimpered softly staring anxiously out the window. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Mr. Worth looked down at him. "Let's go quickly before it returns."

Courage held on to the tall ghost's hand and the two of them disappeared.


	9. A Visitor

Muriel nearly jumped out of her chair as two figures slowly materialized in the middle of the living room. Eustace looked up just in time to see the two ghosly looking figures turn into one tall teacher and one small pink dog.

Mr. Worth glided over to talk to the four children for a second or two then sat down on the couch between Muriel and Eustace's chairs. He carefully chose his words as he explained a little bit about what he and Courage had found out. The rest of the children had materialized and now gathered in a half-circle listening to their teacher. When Mr. Worth was finished speaking, the smallest one of the children glided over to sit in the teacher's lap leaning close for security. Mr. Worth put his arms aroundthe little girl. "Don't worry, everything will be okay. I have been given a new prayer of protection for all of you to learn. It will keep those things away from us." The ghost motioned for all the children to come near. Courage listened as the teacher taught his students the new prayer but he coudn't understand a word of it.

When Mr. Worth was finished, Courage asked, "What language was that?"

The ghost focused carefully on what Courage was saying. "It's Aramaic."

Eustace and Muriel exchanged glances wondering where the teacher had learned the ancient language.

Mr. Worth seemed to read their minds. "In the last eighty or so years that we have been walking the earth, I have learned a lot of things. I now speak several languages fluently including the language that the prayer of protection on this pendant is written in." The teacher pointed to the pendant he wore around his neck.

Suddenly, everybody was startled by a loud noise on the front porch. The children huddled close to their teacher while Courage followed Eustace to the front door. Eustace opened the door to find a nervous looking man standing there. "Sir, my car just broke down just a little ways down the road. Could I please use your phone to call a tow truck?"

Eustace nodded. "Come on in." He led the man to the phone.

The man made the call then timidly asked if he could wait inside the house until the tow truck arrived. "I don't want to be out there after dark with those shadow things around."

Muriel went into the kitchen for a moment or two. She returned with a picture of tea and several cups.

The man's hands were shaking as he gratefully took the cup of tea Muriel offered him. "I'm sorry I'm so nervous. It's just that I haven't had a good night's sleep since those things started showing up. I was on my way out of town when my car broke down. I just want to get out of here before any more bad things happen."

Muriel sat down on the couch next to the man. "Why, what has happened?"

The man's voice trembled as he spoke. "I had been having these horrible nightmares. Then, two nights ago, one of those creepy looking shadow things started hanging around outside my house. I kept the doors and windows locked just like the police told me to but it busted my front door down and just stood there on my front porch until the police arrived."

Eustace was listening intently to the man's story. "So the police saw it?"

"No, it ran off as soon as it heard the sirens."

"Did you get a good look at it?"

The man took a long drink of his tea, empying the cup before he was able to speak. "That was the weirdest part of the whole thing. My porch light was on but it was so dark around that thing that all I could see was a big black shadow! One thing I can tell you, I sensed pure evil from that thing. I was hoping that it wouldn't come back after being chased off by the police but I was wrong." The man watched gratefully as Muriel refilled his teacup. He took another long drink before continuing his story. "I have been sleeping in the front room on the couch with the lights and tv on since all of this started." Eustace and Muriel just looked at each other. "I was almost asleep when I heard a loud noise outside my window. I was afraid that if I went to the window I would see that thing again so I just stayed on the couch. A few minutes later I heard the noise again only louder and it was right behind me. I sat up and looked around to see that thing standing  
right in my hallway! I just got up and ran out of my house. I spent the rest of the night in the hotel. This morning I went back home just long enough to get as much of my stuff loaded into my car as I could. I was going to leave town then but my car wouldn't start. I had to wait two hours for a two truck to take my car to the garage. I just got it back a little while ago but I guess they didn't fix it right because it just quit running as I was passing by your house."

Everybody jumped as they heard a loud noise outside. This time it was the tow truck. The man went outside to meet the driver of the tow truck. Eustace stood out on the front porch where he could see the man's car being loaded onto the back of the tow truck. He waited there until they had driven off before coming back into the house locking the door behind him and turning on the little alarm.

It was completely dark outside by the time Muriel finished cooking dinner. Instead of eating at the kitchen table, Muriel, Eustace and Courage all ate in the living room. For once, Courage didn't mind eating out of a bowl on the floor. After dinner, Courage went up to the attic where Mr. Worth was sitting in front of the computer searching for more information on the demons. The children were all resting in preparation for what promised to be a very long night.

Mr. Worth turned around as Courage entered the attic room. "Did you hear what the man said about the demon being in his house?" the teacher had a grim expression on his face.

Courage just nodded silently understanding exactly what this meant. The demons were becoming stronger.

Mr. Worth looked back toward the computer screen. "I have found only a few refrences to demons but no real information. I am at a loss, Courage. The children and I are nowhere near strong enough to hold off these things for very long even with the prayers. We need help and we need it fast."

Courage looked up at the ghost then turned into a perfect image of Shirley then a question mark.

The ghost looked down. "She may still be very mad at all of us because of the way we hypnotized her and released those spirits against her will."

Courage began to hop from one foot to the other excitedly. "What about the other ghosts! Could they help us?"

Mr. Worth looked up at Courage. "That's a possibility. Only we will have to wait until tomorrow before we go to Alden's house. The demons are much to active at night for us to attempt to travel."


	10. The Demon Returns

Mr. Worth and Courage made their way down the stairs followed by the 13 children. The movie that Eustace and Muriel were watching had just ended and the news was coming on after the comercial break.

Mr. Worth gathered the children around him speaking to them quietly as Courage curled up on the rug at Muriel's feet. A few moments later, the children formed a circle around Courage, Eustace, and Muriel. The circle of children move clockwise as they began to chant the new prayer that Mr. Worth had taught them. The children fell silent and sat down on the floor in front of the television as the comercial ended. Mr. Worth sat down on the couch between Muriel and Eustac's chairs focusing his attention on the t.v. screen.

The news was basically the same as it had been the night before. Police were investigating reports of homes being broken into. People had reported seeing large shadowy figures in their front yards or on their front porches. The Nowhere electric company was still trying to restore power to a handful of homes after last night's mysterious power outages. Courage found himself falling asleep as the news droned on. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep when he was awakened by one of the children. "Courage, wake up! Look!" The little girl was pointing to the television screen where a reporter was standing in front of Shirley's little shop. Courage sat up listening intently to the reporter, "The search is on for the owner of this small shop, a lady known only as 'Shirley', who disappeared earlier this evening. Shirley, a spiritual medium who is well known to the people of Nowhere, vanished when she confronted several large shadowy figures that had appeared outside her shop. Several people called police when they heard a commotion and what sounded like cries for help. When police arrived, the shop had been ramsacked and Shirley was missing. So far, police have no leads in this case and are warning people not to confront anybody they see in their yards."

Courage's fur stood on end. "Oh-no!" the little dog cried.

Eustace looked over at Courage. "Isn't she that friend of yours?"

Mr. Worth answered the question for Courage. "She's the one who helped Courage to return our necklace to us. She also helped us on one other occasion." Mr. Worth stared down at the floor with a worried look on his face. The children all gathered close to their teacher. Mr. Worth swallowed then continued, "We had thought of going to her for help but I figured that she would still be mad at me so we decided against it."

Eustace gave the ghost a puzzled look. "Why would she be mad at you?"

The ghost gathered his thoughts then explained how Courage had called him when the other ghosts kept appearing during the strange electrical storm. He told Eustace about Alden Dillon stumbling upon the stones that had strange writing on them and how he had accidently released the spirits from the stones. Shirley understood the spells written on the stones and knew how to recapture the ghosts. Only Mr. Worth did not want the ghosts trapped in the stones so he had the children hypnotize Shirley while he and Alden Dillon set the spirits free for good.

Eustace nodded in understanding. "I can see how she would be upset about that. So, what happened to all the other ghosts?"

"Most of them went 'home'. Four are still here and staying at Alden's house."

Muriel, who had been listening with great interest, asked, "Do ye think the other spirits could help us?"

Mr. Worth nodded. "Courage had the same idea earlier this evening. We are going over there tomorrow to talk to them."

The news came back on but there really wasn't anything more of interest so Courage found himself falling asleep once again. Eustace wrapped his quilt around him and also dosed off. Muriel began watching a movie but soon fell asleep herself. Only Mr. Worth and two of the children stayed awake.

It was just past midnight when Mr. Worth signalled the two children to wake the other children up. When the other children had awakened, all children gathered close to their teacher. There was a feeling of intense evil in the air all around them. Mr. Worth whispered something to the children and they all formed a circle with Mr. Worth in the center. The familiar sound of the children's chanting woke Courage up. He looked up to see the children in a circle moving slowly clockwise as they recited the new prayer they had been taught. Eustace and Muriel were also awakened by the chant. Mr. Worth signalled to the children to stop then motioned for Eustace, Muriel and Courage to join him in the center of the circle. They all moved into the center of the circle and the children started chanting again. Outside, there was a loud noise followed by the sound of something walking on the porch. Something was trying to get the front door open. At the same time, the alarm on the cellar door went off followed by the alarm on the back door. Then the lights went out leaving the room lit up only by the soft glow from the ghosts.

Eustace wrapped his arms around Muriel as Courage huddled against her legs. All three were trembling with fear. Only Mr. Worth appeared calm as the children continued to chant. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the lights came back on and the sound from the television startled everyone. Mr. Worth motioned to the children who stopped chanting. The tall ghost glanced over at the t.v. which immediately shut off.

Courage followed Eustace into the kitchen to check the back door. Courage let out a shriek and hid behind Eustace, trembling as he stared wide-eyed at the open back door.

Mr. Worth glided into the room, looked at the terrified dog, then at the open back door. In a calm gentle voice he told Courage to go back into the living room with Muriel and the children. Then he turned to Eustace. "I think the demon is gone now. Let's go check the cellar."

Eustace nodded and followed the ghost outside. The cellar door was still shut although it appeard that something had tried to open it. There were clawmarks, like the ones Eustace and Courage had seen on the kitchen door, all over the cellar door. Eustace reached down and reset the alarm then he and Mr. Worth went back inside the house.

Eustace locked the back door and reset the alarm. "That was kind of scary."

Mr. Worth nodded. "There was more than one of them here that time."

Eustace looked over at the ghost. "Why do they keep coming around here?"

"I'm not certain but it could be because this place is so isolated. I fear that, once they become strong enough, you and Muriel could be in great danger of being their first victims."

"What would they do to us?"

"Possess you, steal your energy, then take you away. Maybe even kill you."

Eustace looked angry. "Blasted demons. What can we do to get rid of them?"

Mr. Worth sat down at the table. "We have to find out who summoned them and why. Then we can figure out how to get rid of them."

"If I get me hands on the idiot who brought those things here I'll turn them inside out!"

Mr. Worth chuckled at the mental image of an angry Eustace turning somebody inside out as he and Eustace went back into the living room to join the others.


	11. Midnight Guests

Muriel had turned the television back on and was searching for somthing to watch but the only thing on was the news. She settled on one station that had a special bulletin. The reporter was standing in front of the Nowhere police station talking to a police officer. The report was basically the same as all the others except for this time a man had gone outside to get a good look at what was on his front porch. The power was out so he shined a flashlight on it. The police officer went on to say that the man described the creature as being about eight feet tall and looking like 'one of those ugly statues you see in front of buildings'. The creature was all black and had wings. When it turned to face the man it's eyes turned red then it suddenly flew away. The reporter continued to ask the police officer a few more questions but the answers were basically the same as they had been over the last two days. The police had no leads and all residents were advised to stay indoors and not try to confront the creatures.

Muriel muted the t.v. and turned to face Mr. Worth. "David, I've asked ye before and now I am asking you one more time. Could ye please kindly tell me is going on around here?" Her normally cheerful voice sounded very stern and impatient.

The ghost looked over at Eustace then looked down. "That thing that busted your front door in last night was a demon."

"Oh my!"

Mr Worth looked up at Muriel allowing her to see the fear in his eyes. "There are several of them. We don't know why they're here or who brought them here. All we know is that they're getting stronger by the minute and, if we don't find a way of stopping them ..." The ghost's voice trailed off as he returned his gaze to the floor in front of him.

"Why didn't ye tell me this before?" Muriel was obviousely somewhere between shocked and angry but getting closer to angry by the minute.

Eustace cleared his throat. "It's my fault Muriel. I asked him and the dog both not to let on about what was going on because I didn't want you getting any more upset and worried than you already were. I was worried about you Muriel." The old man took a moment to gather his thoughts. His hands were visibly shaking as he continued. "Those dreams I've been having ... awful dreams Muriel that something came and took you away.. I didn't want to tell you because I was hoping that it was nothing. Then those things started showing up and I was worried that if you knew how scared I was you would be even more scared."

Muriel smiled gently. "I understand Eustace, but you really should have told me the truth in the beginning."

"I'm sorry Muriel. I - I ... " The old man stammered and sighed unable to put words to his feelings.

"It's okay Eustace," Muriel said gently, "I forgive you."

Eustace smiled up at Muriel while everybody else just looked on in stunned silence. Nobody could believe what they were seeing! Normally Eustace never was never this nice to anybody for any reason and the only thing he seemed to care about was money.

The stunned silence was broken by a knock at the door that startled Courage inside out. The pink dog took a deep breath, which looked kind of strange because his lungs were on the outside, and turned himself right side out again before following Eustace to the window.

Eustace glanced out the window to see a man standing on the porch. The farmer scratched his bald head, wondering who could possibly be visiting this time of night, and went over to turn off the alarm before opening the door.

The man standing on the porch seemed very calm and relaxed considering that it was so late at night and there were demons terrorizing everybody. "Hello sir, I am so sorry for coming over this late at night but I saw your lights on so I figured that you were all still awake. Is Courage here?"

Stunned, Eustace turned to Courage who was still standing over by the window. "Hey dog, it's for you."

Courage padded over to the door to see Alden Dillon standing on the front porch. He gave Alden a big toothy grin as his tail wagged happily.

"Hello Courage, we just got back into town after taking a trip back to my old house to get some of my stuff. We were watching the news when they showed the story about Shirley's disappearance. We started worrying about you and David and the children. Have you seen David and the children lately?"

Courage nodded and motioned for Alden to come in.

Alden smiled brightly as Mr. Worth and the children materialized in front of him. "Good to see you David! How are all of you?"

Mr. Worth smiled happily. "Hello Alden, we are okay given the circumstances." Mr. Worth introduced Alden to Eustace and Muriel then told Alden about the demons and everything else that had been going on.

"We have been watching the news all night. We were worried about you when they showed the story about the graves being dug up outside the cemetary."

Muriel and Eustace looked at each other then at Alden. "Graves outside the cemetary?"

Alden nodded. "Something was digging up the graves that were part of the old Nowhere cemetary - the one that was destroyed by the earthquake."

"Why would somebody do such a thing?" Muriel asked.

Mr. Worth shivered. "Believe me, dear lady, you do not want to know."

A noise on the front porch startled everybody except for Alden. He looked back outside. "It's okay come on in."

Eustace and Muriel were shocked to see four bright white lights hovering on the front porch just outside the front door. One by one the lights began to take on human form. One of them stepped forward just ouside the open door to look Mr. Worth in the eye. Mr. Worth silently nodded and the ghost glided in followed by the other three ghosts.

The first ghost stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Caleb and these are my friends, Shane, Arie, and Kiel."

The ghosts each stepped forward as their name was spoken. Mr. Worth smiled and introduced himself, Eustace, Muriel, the children, and finally, Courage.

When everybody had been introduced, Eustace looked over at Mr. Worth. "Are these the ones you were talking about who were released from those stones?"

Mr. Worth nodded.

Eustace took another surprised look at the ghosts as he closed the front door and turned the alarm back on. Muriel whispered to Courage to follow her as she went into the kitchen. A few minutes later she returned carrying a tray with a pot of coffee and several mugs. Courage followed behind with a large try of cookies.

Muriel and Courage set the trays on the coffee table. Several hands reached out for the mugs while a swarm of little ghosts surrounded the cookies. Courage managed to sneak his paw into the swarm to draw back several cookies for himself. Alden and the four ghosts sat down on the floor near the coffee table while Mr. Worth and some of the children settled on the couch. Eustace sat down in his chair with a cup of coffee and couple of cookies that he had managed to sneak from the tray amidst the smaller ghostly hands. Muriel went back into the kitchen then returned after a few moments to settle down in her rocking chair with a cup of her favorite tea.

Eustace and Mr. Worth were telling the Alden and the other ghosts in detail about the demons when Arie suddenly stood up. "I think we may have a visitor outside."

Shane, Caleb and Kiel rose and went to the window while Arie stayed behind standing in the center of the room. A loud noise came from outside then the alarm on the celler door startled everybody. A few seconds later the alarm from the back door could be heard. Mr. Worth glided over to Arie and spoke quietly with him for a moment then signalled to the children who formed a circle around Courage, Eustace, Muriel, Mr. Worth and Arie. Soon the now familiar chant started up. The other three ghosts retreated back into the center of the circle as the children continued their chant. A moment later the sound disappeared from the t.v. then the lights went out leaving the room illuminated by the ghosts.

Courage shivered in fear huddling close to Muriel who was huddled close to Eustace. Mr. Worth looked a little nervous but didn't seem to be as afraid as before. Suddenly the froth door burst open, the sound of the alarm shrieking out as a large shadowy figure loomed in the open doorway. Shane and Caleb looked over to Arie then nodded and slipped out of the circle to grab the startled creature. A few seconds later a commotion could be heard outside as the lights came back on. Muriel quickly shut the t.v. off as everybody stared at the two ghosts who were holding a strange creature that looked something like the statues outside the Nowhere library.

Arie glided forward as the circle of children broke apart. The ghost pulled a glowing chain from around his waist. Caleb and Shane released the creature as Arie fastened the chain around the creature's neck. The chain instantly turned into a bright silver metal. "Well, what do we have here?" Arie grinned as the creature began to shrink down until it was the size of a large owl. "It's a little gargoyle. Decided to join in on the fun did you?"

The little creature cowered as the ghost stared down at it. Slowly it shook its head. Caleb gazed thoughtfully at the little gargoyle. "Maybe he was summoned by whoever summoned those demons out there?"

The little gargoyle nodded looking hopefully up at the menacing ghosts.

"Well, what should we do with it? We don't have the spell to return it to stone and we can't just release it. It would become just as much of a threat as those demons out there."

The little gargoyle looked pleadingly up at the ghosts visibly afraid of all of them. It obviously did not want to be turned back into stone.

The children moved closer to get a better look at it. The oldest boy reached out a careful hand to touch the creature who shrank back from the little boys touch. The boy turned to Mr. Worth. "Can I keep it?"

Mr. Worth considered the boys request carefully. "Well, Stephen, you know gargoyles don't always make good pets. If you're not as powerful as it is then you could have a lot of trouble on your hands."

Arie grinned at the little boy then looked over at Mr. Worth. "This little guy's not so bad David. He doesn't seem to have very much negative energy about him at all. I'm sure that Stephen could handle him."

Mr. Worth looked a little uncertain but nodded. "Okay, let's see how well Stephen can handle him."

Stephen stepped forward to take the chain that Arie offered him. The frightened little gargoyle shrank back from the little boy for a moment then obediantly sat by his feet when as the little ghost gave the chain a gentle pull. Stephen reached down to scratch the gargoyle's ears like a puppy and the little creature leaned against him appreciatively.

One of the little girls giggled. "He's kind of cute. What are you going to name him?"

"I don't know." Stephen replied. "Do you give gargoyles a name or do they already have one?"

Arie stepped forward to pick the little gargoyle up and held it in front of himself looking it straight in the eye. He spoke to it in another language while keeping his eyes locked on the gargoyle's. The creature trembled in the ghosts unforgiving stare but said nothing. "This one cannot speak. You'll have to give it a new name and then it will have to be bound to you so that you will always have control over it. We don't want it trying to frighten anybody else like it did earlier tonight now do we?"

Stephen looked over at Mr. Worth who just shrugged. "It's up to you Stephen. If you're going to keep it then you will have to agree to be bound to it and you will have to give it a new name."

Stephen thought it over then said. "I know, I'll name it Midnight because we caught it in the middle of the night."

Arie smiled. "That's a good name." The ghost knelt down and recited a few words then had Stephen repeat those words. Then Arie handed the little gargoyle back to Stephen. "He's all yours. Take good care of him."

Stephen grinned as the little gargoyle shrank down a little more until it was small enough to perch upon the little ghosts shoulder. "Ummm... what do gargoyle's eat?"

"That one came from stone so he probably won't eat very often. He might want to catch a rat or something like that once in a while. Don't worry, he'll let you know when he is hungry and what he wants to eat. He'll also let you know when he wants water and he will need to recharge his energy just as you recharge yours.."

"Does he always have to stay on the chain?"

Arie shook his head. "You can take the chain off of him now if you want. He has been bound to you so he won't go too far away from you and he will listen to whatever you tell him to do."

Stephen happily removed the chain from his pet and returned the chain to Arie who put it back around his waist.

The other children circled around Stephen to admire his new pet. One of the little girls went over and tugged Mr. Worth's sleeve. "Now that Stephen has a pet, can I have one too?"

Mr. Worth looked down at her. "What kind of pet do you want Dianne?"

"I want an undead puppy! Please, can I have one? They're so cute!"

Muriel, Eustace, Courage, and Alden just stared at the little girl. "Undead puppy?" They all said in unison.

Mr. Worth nodded. "There are a few of them down by the old pet cemetary next to the Nowhere Cemetary. I have no idea how they got that way but somebody had a very sick mind." He turned back to the little girl. "I don't know Dianne. An undead puppy would be a huge amout of responsibility. You would be stuck with a dog that never grows up and one that has to be fed several times a day."

Courage gulped and asked the question he was afraid to ask. "What do you feed an undead puppy!"

The teacher grinned over at him. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Courage shuddered then nodded.

"They don't eat normal food at all. They eat flesh of the living just like a wild animal does and they usually drink blood instead of water."

Dianne looked up at her teacher. "I could take him out to hunt. There are plenty of rats in the fields around the cemetary!"

Mr. Worth looked down at her. "You would also have to keep it from chewing on its own bones."

Everybody else in the room looked sick.

The tall ghost chuckled as he looked around the room at all the green faces. "Well, you know how puppies love to chew on bones." He said mischievously.

After taking a second or two to recover from the wave of nausea Alden aksed, "What about the smell? Those things have got to be pretty rancid smelling."

"To tell you the truth, I cannot smell anything unless I really put a lot of energy into it so I wouldn't know." Mr. Worth replied. "But I have seen people around the cemetary when the puppies are out playing and the people don't seem to be bothered by them. So I would guess that they've been that way long enough that there is no smell."

Muriel looked even more sickly but managed to speak. "How do people react when they see those things running around the cemetary?"

"They usually don't notice them."

"Actually, depending upon the spell used and how well preserved they are, the puppies probably wouldn't have any kind of odor. They _might _even eat regular food instead of living flesh and blood. There is also a chance that they might not eat at all." Arie explained as he glided back to the center of the living room. "Oh, by the way, I believe we have visitors outside again."

A loud sound could be heard comming from the alarm on the back door.

"Here we go again." Kiel said as everybody moved to the center of the room to be surrounded by the circle of children.


	12. Demons and Vandals

The famiar chant echoed throughout the room as the lights went out once again leaving the room brighly lit up by all the ghosts. The little gargoyle jumped off of Stephen's shoulders and moved into the center of the circle where it was picked up by Mr. Worth who held it like one would hold a cat or a puppy. The little creature seemed grateful to feel safe as the demons once again lurked outside the house. Courage huddled close to Muriel who stood in between Eustace and Alden. Arie, Caleb, Shane and Kiel stood close to the edge of the circle as if standing guard over those in the center. Noises could be heard outside on the porch. There was a sound of splintering wood as the the alarm on the back door began to shriek. The sound of the alarm from the back door was joined by the sound of the alarm on the cellar door and the alarm on the front door.

Noises could be heard from inside the kitchen. Suddenly, a large shape appeared in the kitchen doorway. Before anybody really had time to react, the front door burst open to reveal another large shadowy shape standing there in the doorway. Muriel shrieked and jumped into Eustace's arms. Courage's eyes grew to ten times their normal size then popped like balloons before returning to normal. Mr. Worth moved closer to the edge of the circle as if to protect the children.

Arie nodded over to Caleb who moved outside the circle to face the creature at the front door. Arie then nodded over to Kiel who moved outside the circle to face the creature standing in the kitchen doorway. The two demons' eyes began to glow bright red as the ghosts moved closer to them. Finally the demons backed away. The demon at the front door slowly backed outside glaring at Caleb as the ghost pushed the badly broken front door closed behind the demon. Caleb then glided over to stand beside Kiel. Together they followed the other demon out into the kitchen then pushed the broken back door closed behind the evil creature as it backed up until it was outside glaring at them every step of the way. Moments later, the lights came on again.

The children weakly glided over to the couch. Mr. Worth handed the gargoyle back to Stephen who seemed to be fading out a little. Noticing how drained the children and their teacher were becoming, Arie glided over to them. "Why don't you all get some rest. We'll awaken you if anything goes wrong."

Mr. Worth shook his head. "At least one of us should remain awake so there will be somebody to summon us."

Arie insisted. "The dog can summon you can't he? You need rest."

Mr. Worth hesitated.

Arie could sense Mr. Worth's fear. "David, we won't hurt any of you. I promise. We are all indebted to you and the children for saving us from being put back into those stones. We are at your service. You have nothing to fear."

Mr. Worth nodded, feeling a little guilty for not trusting Arie and the others. "Okay, we'll rest. But wake us up if you need us or when you need rest okay?"

Arie nodded.

Mr. Worth smiled weakly then sat down on the couch surrounded by the children. Together, they all faded out to rest.

Arie turned to Shane who had glided up behind them. "Were you able to get to know them well enough?"

Shane nodded. "I have a spell that should work perfectly."

Arie smiled. "Good. Now lets see what the others are up to."

Kiel was busy helping Eustace with the cellar door while Alden and Caleb worked to fix the front door. Still several more hours until daylight and the doors were all in bad shape. Arie busied himself trying to get the back door fixed. The alarm on the back door had been destroyed so Eustace took the one off of the cellar door and put it on the back door. Although he had actually bought several of the little alarms, there was no way he was going out to the barn tonight to get another one. He would bring them all in to the house tomorrow morning. Finally, all the doors were fixed so that they could be locked and everybody returned to the living room.

Courage and Muriel finished cleaning up the kitchen. Muriel had made another pot of coffee which she brought into the living room. "Where's David and the children?"

"They were fading out so I told them to get some rest." Arie replied as he gratefully filled his cup with coffee. "You and your husband might want to get some rest too Muriel. It's only 2:00am and tomorrow might be a very long day if you don't get some rest."

Muriel sat down in her rocking chair. "How can a person sleep with those things runnin' around out there?"

"We'll keep watch." Arie assured her.

Muriel wrapped herself up in her quilt and closed her eyes. Courage curled up at her feet intending to stay awake because there was something about the four ghosts that he just didn't trust yet. Eustace sat down in his chair and fell right to sleep. Only Alden remained awake with the ghosts for a little while then he went upstairs to search for a pillow. He returned to the living room with a pillow and a blanket and made himself comfortable on the rug. Soon he too, was fast asleep. Courage watched as the four ghosts positioned themselves in seperate corners of the room as if keeping watch. Soon the little dog's eyelids became unbearably heavy.

The pink dog was awakened about an hour later by Kiel who motioned for him to keep quiet. "I need you to wake David up." Courage rubbed his sleepy eyes to find that the room was once again dark. He fumbled in his pocket until he found the piece of metal but it was too dark for him to see it. Kiel moved closer to give him a little more light. Courage could just barely make out the words as he read them aloud. A few seconds later, Mr. Worth reappeared.

Kiel glided over and spoke to him for a second as the other three spirits formed a sort of triangle around them. The three spirits began to quietly chant something as Mr. Worth and the children weakly moved to the center of the triangle with Alden. Courage trembled in fear as loud noises from the front porch drowned out the sound of the chanting. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, all was quiet outside. The ghosts stopped chanting but the lights were still out and the now familiar creepy feeling hung in the air like a black cloud.

Shane looked over at Arie. "There are at least three of them out there this time."

Arie nodded then moved to the center of the room. Kiel moved over to the spot where Arie had been standing then he, Shane, and Caleb continued the chant as Arie looked on. Courage noticed that there was something different about Arie but he couldn't put his finger - or rather paw - on it. Somehow the ghost made Courage feel slightly uneasy. Maybe it was because Arie was obviously much more powerful than Mr. Worth. Maybe it was because the other three ghosts answered to him as if he was their leader. Maybe it was because Courage could not get a sense of whether Arie was actually good or evil. Arie seemed to sense what Courage was thinking. The ghost looked right into Courage's eyes and smiled gently at the little dog. A voice echoed in Courage's mind, "There is no reason to fear me, Courage. I am a friend." Courage stared up at Aire who winked back at him. Courage gulped and whimpered softly. Arie grinned at him then turned his attention to the erie silence that now filled the room. The other ghosts had stopped chanting and now stood with their heads bowed. Somehow the room felt safe even though the demons were right outside the house.

A loud shriek from outside broke the silence waking both Muriel and Eustace up. Courage jumped up into Muriel's lap and huddled close while Eustace got up from his chair to stand next to Muriel's rocking chair. There was another loud shriek followed by loud crashing sound then more silence.

After a few moments Arie glided over to the front door. "They're gone."

Eustace looked puzzled. "Are you sure? If they're gone, why haven't the lights come back on?"

Courage felt sick with fear as he thought about the crashing sound. He jumped up from Muriel's lap and landed on the floor hopping from one foot to the other to get everybody's attention. As soon as all eyes were upon him, the little dog turned into a perfect image of a broken windmill.

"Eustace!" Muriel exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, "That loud noise! They must have broken the windmill!"

The old farmer's heart sank as he stared open mouthed at Muriel . They needed to get that windmill fixed and fast! Courage looked outside excitedly then ran around in a panicked circle. He knew what would happen if that windmill didn't start running again soon.

Arie looked at Courage then at Eustace and Muriel unable to understand why they all seemed so afraid. "The windmill can be fixed in the morning. We can provide light if you don't have any candles."

"You don't understand", Eustace said in a panicked voice, "the windmill _cannot_ stop! If it does then _they_ come around!" The old farmer raced to the kitchen where he had left his toolbox tripping over chairs and running into things as he fumbled around in the darkness..

"Oh my!" Muriel was saying, "What are we going to do?"

"We'll have to fix it fast." Eustace replied as he came back into the living room carrying the toolbox.

Arie gave the other ghosts a puzzled look then turned to Eustace and asked, "Who are _they_?"

The ghost's question was answered by the sound of galloping horses and clanging weapons outside. Kiel and Caleb shut off the alarm and opened the front door. They closed the door quickly at the sight of four ghostly skeletal vandals armed with swords, axes, and other weapons riding on ghostly skeletal horses. "What the ----?" Kiel asked as he looked over at Eustace.

Muriel collapsed in her rocking chair. "Now what are we going to do? If Eustace doesn't get the windmill fixed, the windmill vandals will get us all."

Shane looked at the others. "We'll have to go outside with Eustace to fix the windmill."

Arie looked down. "That's exactly what the demons want. They broke that windmill hoping to lure some of us outside to divide us up to make us more vulnerable."

The sound of the horses and clanging metal was getting louder as the ghostly windmill vandals closed in on the house. Arie considered the situation carefully before speaking. "Caleb, you're strong enough to fight off at least two demons on your own. You and Shane go with Eustace to fix the windmill. Kiel and I will stay inside to protect everybody else. But be careful, we have no idea exactly who or what those windmill vandals are so don't try to fight them directly."

Caleb and Shane joined Eustace at the front door then they all stepped outside on the porch together closing the front door behind them. Eustace gasped as he saw the condition of the windmill. Only one blade remained on the body of the windmill which had fallen to the ground. Two of the other blades were on the ground next to the broken machine at the base of the windmill tower while the third blade was several yards away. The wooden tower was still standing but several boards were either broken or loose and it looked very shaky. Shane grabbed Eustace's arm as the windmill vandals approached. A second later, he and Eustace were at the base of the windmill tower. While Caleb distracted the vandals, Eustace quickly began to repair the wooden tower climbing up toward the top of the tower as he worked. Soon, Eustace was up at the top of the tower. Caleb turned into a bright light and floated over to the third windmill blade then turned back into human form long enough to pick the blade up before disappearing. He joined up with Shane at the base of the windmill tower. Eustace called for one of the ghosts to bring him the toolbox. Shane picked up the toolbox and joined Eustace at the top of the windmill tower while Caleb dodged the vandals who were circling around the windmill swinging their weapons menacingly at the ghost.

Caleb disappeared then reappeared over by the barn. The ghostly vandals followed. Shane grabbed Eustace's arm and they disappeared from the top of the tower then reappeared at the base of the windmill tower by the broken body of the windmill. The two quickly picked up the large metal machine and struggled up the tower with it. Caleb continued to taunt the vandals distracting them until Eustace and Shane got to the top of the windmill tower. Finally, Caleb quickly disappeared again as the vandals got close to him then reappeared at the base of the windmill tower just long enough to grab all three blades before joining the others at the top. The four angry skeletal vandals stopped their horses at the base of the tower and glared up at them.

A few yards away, three shadowy figures appeared on the front porch of the farmhouse. They stood there for a few moments watching the commotion over at the windmill. Although the demons seemed to be a little worried by the unexpected presence of the vandals, the vandals were too distracted to notice the demons so the shadowy creatures turned their attention back toward the farmhouse. Inside the farmhouse, Arie could sense the presence of the demons. He quickly turned to the others. "Stand behind me. David, you stand in front of the children but keep quiet and do not drain your energy. Alden, Muriel, Courage - you stand behind David and the children. Kiel, you stand next to me."

Everybody did as Arie told them and waited anxiously. A few seconds later, the ulocked front door oened to reveal three shadowy creatures. One by one the demons entered the living room which was softly illuminated by Arie and Kiel. Alden moved protectively in front of Muriel and Courage who huddled close together while the children moved closer to Mr. Worth. Kiel seemed a little nervous but stood his ground next to Arie. Only Arie didn't seem to be afraid. The ghost stared the demons in the eye as they stood inside the doorway.

Outside, Eustace had finished putting the body of the windmill back in its place on the tower and was frantically attaching the windmill blades as the vandals began to attack the base of the windmill tower. Caleb floated down to grab an axe out of the hands of an angry vandal then floated away with it. The four skeletal nightmares quickly forgot about the windmill and began to chase the ghost who disappeared dropping the axe as they got close. A second later, Caleb rejoined Eustace and Shane at the top of the windmill. Eustace had two of three blades re-attached to the windmill. He was working on getting the final blade attached when a shriek from inside the farmhouse startled him so badly that he dropped the blade into the middle of the angry vandals who had gathered once again at the base of the windmill.

Inside the farmhouse the demons were inching closer to Arie and Kiel causing Muriel to let out a frightened shriek. Without turning his head, Arie quietly spoke to the others. "Try not to let yourselves be afraid. They feed off of your fear. You really have nothing to fear anyway because I won't let them hurt you."

Courage looked up to see that Mr. Worth was now completely calm as he quietly reassured the children who were gathered close around him. The little dog looked back over at Arie who also seemed totally unafraid of the three demons who were aproaching him. The ghost glowed brightly as he stood his ground for a few more seconds then moved forward toward the demons who shrank back. Kiel moved to stand behind Arie in case any of the demons tried to get around him. The demons hissed evilly at the ghost but moved back as if they were afraid of Arie. Arie continued to move slowly toward the demons, his eyes glowing a bright green color as he focused his energy. One of the demons backed out the open door but the other two held their ground just inside the living room.

Outside, four angry vandals circled the windmill as one of them held onto the windmill blade that Eustace had dropped. On the porch of the farmhouse a shadowy figure was backing away from the front door its glowing red eyes focused on what was going on inside the farmhouse. The demon did not notice that the four angry vandals had stopped circling the windmill but they _certainly_ noticed him. One of the skeletal vandals who had been circling the windmill had stopped in his tracks as he looked towared the farmhouse to see the demon. The other three vandals also stopped to stare at the shadowy figure. Now they quietly approached the demon leaving the blade of the windmill on the ground behind them. By the time the demon turned around to see the four vandals coming toward him, it was too late. All four vandals attacked the demon, ripping it to shreds with their weapons. Caleb quickly dropped down from the top of the windmill to grab the blade that the vandals had dropped then reappeared at the top with Eustace and Shane. All three stared wide-eyed as the vandals turned the demon into several tiny pieces that disappeared into a cloud of thick black smoke.

Inside the farmhouse, the other two demons turned to watch as the third demon was hacked into pieces. Arie continued to move closer to the demons who turned to look at him then back to the ghostly windmill vandals who waited just outside glaring angrily at them. Both demons were visibly afraid not knowing which way to run. Finally, one of the demons bolted through the kitchen door looking for a way to escape. The other demon hesitated looking to Arie then to the nightmare that awaited it just outside the front door.

Outside the farmhouse Eustace, Caleb, and Shane watched as the vandals waited by the front porch weapons ready. A moment or two later the alarm from the back door could be heard as the door flew open. The vandals quickly galloped around to the back door just in time to catch the escaping demon. Within seconds, that demon was also turned into tiny pieces which disappeared. While the vandals were distracted the remaining demon quickly darted out the front door and flew away. The vandals came charging back toward the front door once they were finished with the second demon but the third demon was already gone.

Eustace was nearly finished putting the third blade on the windmill but Caleb put one hand on his shoulder. "Wait a minute." He said quietly gesturing toward the front porch of the farmhouse where the vandals now gathered as if waiting for something.


	13. An Uneasy Alliance

Inside the farmhouse, everybody stared wide-eyed as the vandals waited just off of the front porch. Arie and Kiel slowly approached the front door. One of the vandals, dismounted his skeletal horse and began to take on the form of a large man with a mustache and long bushy beard. Arie stepped outside the front door while Kiel stayed inside the living room.

The vandal approached Arie and began to speak. "It seems we have a common enemy."

Arie motioned to Caleb and Shane who disappeared taking Eustace with them. The three reappeared on the porch next to Arie.

The other three vandals glared menacingly at Eustace but did nothing. The first vandal continued. "Those things dug up our graves and tried to steal what was left of our bones. We cannot go back to our graves until those demons are all destroyed and our graves put back in order. But we cannot go after them if the windmill starts running again."

Arie gave the vandal a puzzled look. "Why?"

Courage had crept up behind Arie. He quickly tugged on Arie's pantleg to get the ghost's attention. At first Courage tried to mimick the windmill blades with the strange symbols on them but he couldn't get his point across although everybody was mildly amused as the dog turned into each of the four windmill blades with the strange symbols on them. Finally, Courage tried talking to Arie. "The windmill blades have magical symbols carved into them to keep the vandals away."

"Who put them there and why?"

Courage was so suprised that somebody besides Mr. Worth could actually understand him that it took a moment for him to continue. "The original owner of the farm built the windmill back when everybody had to use waterwheels built by these guys." Courage pointed to the vandals. "When the water dried up, this farm was the only farm with a working mill. The original owner carved the symbols into the windmill blades to keep the vandals from coming to get revenge on him because they vowed to get revenge on anybody who owns this windmill."

Arie turned to the vandal. "Is this true?"

The vandal's eyes glowed an evil red. "Yes, it's true and we _will_ get our revenge and destroy this cursed windmill someday along with whoever owns it. But for now we are willing to declare a temporary truce so that we can join forces to destroy the demons."

"How do we know that we can trust you?"

The vandal looked Arie straight in the eye. "Look sir, you need us and, as much as we hate the thought of it, we need you. You need somebody here who can help you fight and we need to be free to fight. We are all in danger if those demons continue to run wild. They are getting stronger every minute and everybody, human and spirit alike, will be destroyed by them eventually. And it's not just the town of Nowhere that is in danger. Soon the demons will get strong enough that the summoner will no longer be able to control them and then they'll move on to other towns. Nobody will be safe. We have to stop them before it's too late. The only way to do that is for us", the vandal gestured toward the other vandals, "to put aside our anger and for you to trust us."

Arie nodded to Shane. "Go take a look at those symbols and see if you can figure out how to alter the spell temporarily to allow the vandals to roam freely."

Shane nodded then disappeared to study the windmill blades. He reappeared next to Arie. "It's going to take somebody with a lot more skill than I have to come up with a way of altering those spells without removing them completely."

Arie looked down at the ground for a few seconds then back up at Shane with a look that Courage didn't quite understand. Silently he disappeared to the top of the windmill. The ghost stood there for a few minutes studying the blades then retured to the porch to talk to Eustace. "I need a way of temporarily putting some symbols on the windmill blades. I need something that will stay up there only as long as we want it to. Something that can be easily removed once this is all over."

Eustace pointed to Courage. "That dog has a computer that can print stuff on paper. We don't want to use anything too heavy on those blades because the windmill might might not turn if the blades aren't balanced right."

Arie took a moment to think things over. "We need power and the only way to do that is to start the windmill although I would rather have these guys stick around for a while."

Courage and Eustace looked at each other unable to believe what they were hearing!

Shane called Arie over to the side of the house to speak with him. The two returned with a plan. Courage would go up to the top of the winmill and make it turn by running across the top of the blades like a treadmill. Eustace would go up there with him to make sure the windmill held together and Shane would be up there to protect them. Caleb and Kiel would stay in the living room to protect Alden, Muriel and the children while Mr. Worth went up to the attic with Arie to use the computer to print out the symbols for the windmill blades.

Courage gulped staring up at the windmill. He didn't like the thought of this one bit. "Get going dog, we don't have a lot of time!" Eustace gave Courage a gentle shove toward the base of the windmill tower. The pink dog sighed and slowly began to climb the windmill tower followed by Eustace. Midway up the tower, Courage stopped and looked back down to see the four vandals glaring up at him. Shane was busy talking to Arie and Mr. Worth who looked very tired. Courage looked back at Eustace who was directly behind him and whimpered. The old farmer gave him a gentle nudge. "Come on dog move it." Eustace's said softly. They got to the top of the windmill as Shane was finishing his conversation with the other ghosts.

Courage looked up at Eustace. "I don't like this one bit!"

Although Eustace couldn't understand the words, he understood the sentiment. "I don't like it either dog, but there's no other way. Besides, something tells me that there's more than meets the eye when it comes to that Arie. I think he knows what he's doing."

Shane appeared just as Eustace finished talking, startling poor Courage out of his skin and off of the windmill! The ghost quickly reached out to grab the skinless dog to keep him from falling and set him down next to his skin. Courage gave the ghost a toothy grin and giggled sheepishly as he put his skin back on.

Arie and Mr. Worth went back into the house followed by Caleb. Arie glided up the stairs with Mr. Worth who entered the attic ahead of him and went to the window to signal Courage to start the windmill. Courage climbed up on the blades and began to run across the top of them. Instantly, the four vandals turned into a mist which quickly disappeared.

Mr. Worth sat down in front of the computer and turned it on. A sarcastic sounding voice greeted him. "Not _you _again! Whatever happened to that twit of a dog?"

"He's busy keeping the power on so you can be a pain in the ---. Now, quickly, open up your paint shop program." Mr. Worth answered impatiently.

"Well!" The computer sounded almost insulted. "If you will keep your shirt on .. oh that's right, you're a ghost. Well, then don't get your chains all rattled." The machine snickered at its own joke.

Mr. Worth glared at the computer. "If you want to keep your RAM where it belongs, I suggest you watch your words. Besides, that crap about chains is only in storybooks."

Arie looked down at Mr. Worth. "Umm maybe not just in storybooks David." The other ghost grinned as he pointed to the three glowing chains that he wore around his waist. "Although these have nothing to do with the storybook myth."

"Great, all I need is two of you." The computer scowled. "Oh well, here's the program you asked for."

Mr. Worth began to work at recreating the symbols that Arie needed. The symbols were fairly complicated and each windmill blade needed a different one. Because of this, the ghost made sure to save the progam every few seconds knowing that the power would be going off and on as Courage took some much needed rest breaks.

Outside the farmhouse, Courage paced himself as he hopped carefully from blade to blade. So far, so good the little dog thought until the one blade that Eustace hadn't attached securely to the windmill earlier broke off and dropped to the ground taking poor Courage with it. Shane quickly appeared at the base of the windmill to help Courage out of the dog-shaped pit in the ground. The vandals, who had reappeared the moment the windmill stopped, chuckled and watched Courage with glowing red eyes as the poor dog staggered around for a few seconds. Once he had recovered, Courage reached out to take Shane's hand and they disappeared taking the windmill blade with them to the top of the tower. While Eustace worked to re-attach the blade so it would hold, the four vandals moved over to circle the farmhouse as if keeping watch.

Inside the attic, the ghosts began to talk while they waited for the power to come on again. Mr. Worth ask the question that he was almsot afraid to ask. "Arie, you must have walked this earth for a very long time to have the kind of power you have. How long have you been here?"

Arie glided over to the cot and sat down. "I have been here for nearly 2000 years David."

Mr. Worth's jaw dropped. He could tell that Arie was a ancient spirit but he had no idea... "If you don't mind my asking, why are you still here?"

"Because I commited a great sin David. You see, in life, I was once a great prophet. Many people depended upon me David and I always tried never to steer them wrong. Our Lord's voice was clear in my head and I was faithful to tell the people exactly what I heard and what I was shown. But, I convinced myself that I could be an even greater prophet if I learned how to do things such as heal people. Then I learned how to control weather so that I could bring rain in times of drought. But my intentions weren't completely pure. I soon learned how to use my new found powers to attack my enemys. In time I became completely immersed in magic and sorcery. I had changed and the people no longer trusted me. They cast me out into the wilderness. I had become a great prophet and powerful sorcerer but had lost everything. Late one night I prayed for forgiveness but was told that I would have to walk the earth until the end of time as punishment for my sins. The next day, I was killed and eaten by wild animals."

Mr. Worth listened wide-eyed with amazement at what he was hearing. "Weren't you angry?"

Arie shook his head his eyes filled with regret as he spoke. "No David, I was not angry, just very sorry."

The power came back on and the computer started up again silently opening the paint shop program. Mr. Worth finished the next symbol without interruption then had to wait a few more minutes while Courage rested.

Outside, the vandals reappeared once again. The pink dog stared down at the ghostly figures circling the farmhouse as he stood there on top of the windmill blades panting heavily to catch his breath. He didn't trust those vandals but, somehow, he was beginning to trust Arie. He just hoped that Eustace was right and that Arie knew what he was doing. Once he had caught his breath, Courage began to run in place again on top of the windmill blades slowly turning the windmill.

Inside the attic, the two ghosts were chatting while they waited for the power to come back on. "So, is Shane a sorcerer too?" Mr. Worth asked.

"No, Shane was a psycic medium in life and has become a sort of 'spellcaster' in death. He is not evil but is condemned to walk the earth for reasons that I cannot speak of because he wants these things to be kept private."

"How old are the others?" Mr. Worth turned toward the computer as the power came back on.

"Shane is just over 1000 years old. Caleb is nearly as old as I am. He is here for the same reason the children are. An unfortunate death brought about the scattering of his body. Some of his bones are perfectly preserved in several different places. Kiel is only about 500 years old and and is here for the same reason as Caleb and the children."

Mr. Worth continued to work on the third symbol until the power went out again as Courage struggled to catch his breath at the top of the windmill.

Arie glided over to the window to look up at the dog standing on the windmill blades trying to catch his breath. "Poor pup. He's exhausted. By the way David, why didn't you leave this earth when you were given the opportunity?"

Mr. Worth looked surprised. "How did you know I could have left?"

Arie smiled over at him. "I am a prophet David. I know these things."

"I promised the children that I protect them and would never leave them. After all, it is my fault they died the way they did and I will not leave this world until they are able to leave too."

Arie stared Mr. Worth straight in the eye. "It is not your fault David. It is nobody's fault. Things happened that day the way they were intended to happen. The best thing you can to is let go of that guilt. Those children need you, David. You're not only a teacher to them, you're a father to them as well. The anger and the guilt that you hold on to gets in the way of that."

Mr. Worth gazed down at the wooden attic floor. The power came back on and he turned his attention back to the computer to quickly finished the third and forth symbols before Courage became too exhausted to keep the windmill going.

It had only taken about 45 minutes for Mr. Worth to get the symbols printed out but, to Courage, it seemed like hours. The poor dog collapsed falling from the windmill the moment he saw Mr. Worth and Arie come out of the farmhouse. Arie raised one hand and a strong blast of wind formed an air cushion to break Courage's fall. The pink dog wagged his tail gratefully even though he was a little frightened by this display of power.

The vandals reappeared glaring menacingly at Courage as they surrounded the base of the windmill. Arie floated to the top of the windmill and placed the paper symbols on the blades, each piece of paper magically sticking to its blade as the ghost recited a spell. Then Arie turned and nodded to Eustace who quickly finished the final repairs on the windmill which started up again with a gentle humming sound.

The vandals looked anxiously up as the windmill blades started moving but relaxed as soon as they realized that they were not going to disappear. Courage shrank back against the base of the tower looking up at the ghostly nightmares. The vandals looked menacingly down at him. One of the vandals raised his sword laughing as poor Courage cowered against the base of the windmill in fear.

Arie appeared between Courage and the vandals. "Let's get one thing straight. I would like for us all to work together buI I _will not _allow you to hurt or torment Eustace, Muriel, or Courage. Is that understood?"

The vandal put away his sword and nodded. The one vandal who had spoken with Arie earlier got off of his horse and turned into human form. "We need to come up with a plan for the rest of tonight. My men can guard the outside of the house but, if too many of those demons come around, then we could be sitting ducks. My idea is for two of us to guard the back door of the house and two of us to guard the front porch. We will need at least one of you to keep watch on either door from the inside. It might be better if both doors are kept open since those things seem to have no trouble breaking down doors anyway. This way we can all keep watch over each other."

Arie nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. When do you think you and your men will need to rest?"

"We will all take a short rest once it is daylight. Then two will stay awake while two sleep. This way we will all have a chance to regain our full energy."

Arie nodded and called Shane over. They all talked few more minutes then everybody headed toward the farmhouse. Courage walked just behind Eustace followed by Arie, Shane and two of the vandals who took their places on either side of the open front door. Shane left the kitchen door open as he glided over to open the back door. The other two vandals had already taken their places on either side of the back door. Arie convinced both Eustace and Muriel to try to get some sleep then glided over to talk to Mr. Worth for a moment. After talking with Arie, Mr. Worth and the children faded out. Kiel glided over to talk with Arie then moved to stand guard inside the front door. Alden curled up on the floor wrapped comfortably in a blanket leaving only Courage, Arie and Caleb still awake.

Arie called Courage over to him and handed him a piece of paper that he had asked Mr. Worth to print up on the computer. "Courage, I want you to be able to summon us if you ever need us. There is a seperate spell by each name. This way you call upon whichever one of us you need to. I trust you will keep these spells safe Courage and use them wisely."

Courage nodded and put the piece of paper into his pocket.

Arie smiled. "Now, Caleb and I will be fading out to rest. You should sleep too, Courage."

The pink dog looked nervously at the open front door then over at the kitchen door.

"There is nothing to fear, Courage. Those demons won't be back tonight. There are too many of us and they are not quite strong enough to fight us all." Arie walked over and sat against the wall behind Muriel's rocking chair. He called Courage over. "You can sleep over here with me, Courage. I'll protect you."

Courage curled up next to Arie and was suprised to find that, even when Arie disappeared, he could feel the ghosts presence. For the first time in several days, Courage actually felt completely safe and relaxed. Soon he was sound asleep.


	14. Gargoyles And Sorcery

The sun was just beginning to rise when Courage was awakened by the television set. Alden quickly lowered the volume to keep from waking anybody else up. The news was on but Courage couldn't see or hear much from where he was laying so he got up and went over to sit next to Alden who was sitting on the floor in front of the tv.

Alden smiled at Courage as the little dog sat next to him. "Just wanted to see what was going on in town. I hope those demons haven't destroyed the place."

A reporter appeared on the screen talking about how police were investigating several reports of shadowy creatures appearing in houses scaring the occupants. The reporter then began to speak to a man who said his wife had been in the kitchen late at night when their back door was broken down. His wife saw a shadow like creature with glowing red eyes. She screamed and the thing disappeared. The man said his wife was so scared that the two of them spent the night in the Nowhere Hotel. The reporter then went on to say that the Nowhere Hotel was now full because of the people who had been frightened out of their homes.

Caleb had appeared next to Courage while the reporter was talking. "That's not a bad idea at all. Those people who are staying at the hotel will be a lot safer." The ghost remarked thoughtfully keeping his voice low to keep from waking Eustace and Muriel.

Alden nodded. "In situations like these there is definately safety in numbers."

Caleb grinned. "If that's the case then we should pretty safe here. Not only are there three people in this house, we also have Courage, David, thirteen children, a gargoyle, four vandals who happen to be very skilled at hacking demons to pieces, one sorcerer, one spellcaster, one warrior, and Kiel."

Courage's jaw dropped and his ears stood straight up as he looked up at Caleb thinking to himself, "Sorcerer? Spellcaster?"

Alden sighed. "But we can't just sit here. We have to go out and find out who is behind all this. The question is, are we strong enough to go out and fight all those demons?"

Caleb nodded. "I think we are, Alden. But we need a plan of attack. I'm sure we will come up with something."

One of the vandals was listening from the front porch. The skeletal ghost leaned down from the back of his horse to peek inside the front door "It won't be easy. Do you have any idea how many of those shadow bastards there are out there?"

Caleb shrugged. "I'll venture a guess that there are about forty or fifty of them."

Courage gasped.

The vandal nodded. "That's a good guess. Although I haven't really had a chance to count the things."

"How would somebody be able to summon fifty demons and why?" Courage wondered out loud.

"It doesn't take a lot of power to summon these types of demons, Courage." Arie had woken up and now joined the group in front of the tv. "In fact, all a person would need to do is summon a few of them then give them power to summon more demons."

"But what about that gargoyle?"

"Good point. It takes a decently skilled person to bring a stone statue to life."

The vandal dismounted asking permission to come in. Arie nodded and the skeleton joined them. "We had a spellcaster wandering around the cemetary trying to raise the dead a couple of weeks before this whole thing started. Really, not much of a spellcaster but he tried. Luckily he didn't succeed. But I wonder if he has anything to do with these demons?"

Arie stared thoughtfully down at the rug. "That's a good question. I wonder if that spellcaster had anything to do with the undead puppies that David and the children were talking about last night."

The vandal let out a quiet laugh. "Nah, those poor things been there for many a year now. Not sure how they got there but they're kind of cute to watch."

"One of the girls wanted one for a pet." Arie said quietly.

"Kind of a strange thing to have for a pet." The vandal replied glancing out the door as the other vandal who had been watching the porch signalled that he was going to rest. The vandal rose to his feet and moved to the front door. "My turn to keep watch." The skeleton walked out the front door and flew onto his horses back.

Alden got up and stretched. "I'm getting kind of hungry. I wonder if anything is open in town?"

Caleb shrugged. "From the way things looked on the news, it's business as usual even with those things terrorizing everybody at night."

Alden checked his wallet then looked over at Arie. "Do you think it's safe just to .. you know.. appear there or should I drive?"

Arie rose to his feet. "Wait a moment and I'll tell you." The ghost disappeared for a moment or two then reappeared. "It seems fairly quiet. My guess is that the demons are regrouping after losing two of their friends last night. By the way, Dil's cafe is open."

Alden grinned. "Can you take me there?"

"Might be better if Caleb went. I should probably stay here just in case."

Alden nodded in agreement. "Hey, Caleb, are you able to take both me and Courage?"

"Sure." The ghost replied.

"Come on, Courage."

Courage wagged his tail and joined hands with Alden and Caleb. A strange feeling of sleepiness overcame him as they disappeared.

A few seconds later, the three appeared in the alley behind the cafe. Courage felt strangely refreshed considering how sleepy he had been when they disappeared.

Caleb concentrated for a few seconds then took on the appearance of a normal man dressed in strange clothes. Courage rubbed his eyes and stared in disbelief. If he hadn't known better, he never would have guessed that Caleb was a ghost! Caleb chuckled at Courage's reaction.

Alden took his belt off and fastened around Courage's neck like a leash. "Sorry friend but this is the only way that they'll let you come in there even if it is just to order food for take out."

Courage sighed. He really hated having to be put on a leash. Nevertheless, he followed Alden into the cafe with Caleb right behind the two of them. Courage noticed that people were staring at Caleb's clothes but nobody said anything to him. Alden ordered enough food for everybody in the house -- including the ghosts since Arie, Caleb, Kiel, and Shane liked to eat normal food once in a while. Alden even bought some cookies for the children. Soon, the three of them left the restaurant with their arms full of bags. Unable to hold on to Alden and Courage with the bags of food in his hands, Caleb disappeared taking the food with him then returned to take Alden and Courage back to the house.

Muriel and Eustace were already awake when they got back. Muriel, who looked very tired, was grateful that she didn't have to cook breakfast. Soon everybody, including the four vandals, was awake and in the living room eating. Even Mr. Worth, who rarely ate normal food, ate some of the scrambled eggs.

After breakfast, Courage jumped up in Muriel's lap and curled up into a fluffy pink ball of fur. Muriel began to search for something on tv and soon settled on a movie that looked interesting. She and Eustace were both very tired since neither of them had gotten much sleep last night. Soon both fell asleep as they tried to watch the movie.

The vandals had faded out for a short rest. Mr. Worth and the children also faded out once more to rest along with Shane and Kiel. Alden and Caleb began to clean up the mess from breakfast then went outside to look around the farmhouse a bit to see if the demons had done any real damage.

Courage yawned and closed his eyes but found himself unable to sleep even though he was very tired. He kept thinking about what Caleb had said earlier about one of the ghosts being a sorcerer. He looked up at Arie who was standing guard close to the front door and remembered the uneasy feeling he had gotten from the ghost before. A anxious feeling began to buzz in his stomach. Courage slowly climbed down from Muriel's lap being careful not to wake her and nervously paced around the living room until Arie appeard in front of him startling the poor dog into a big fluff of frightened fur.

"Sorry Courage." Arie tried to hold back a chuckle as Courage regained his shape. "You seem a little worried. Is there something bothering you, other than those demons?"

Courage felt his stomach turn into knots as the ghost's eyes locked onto his. He tried to think of how to say what he wanted to say but he was also afraid of waking Muriel and Eustace. He stared up at the ghost silently feeling suddenly afraid of Arie.

Arie glanced over at Eustace and Muriel who were both sound asleep. "Let's go upstairs and talk."

Before Courage could react, he found himself standing in the attic room with Arie. He stared wide-eyed at the ghost.

"Don't worry, Courage. I don't usually teleport somebody against their will. I just wanted to bring some things out in the open."

Courage just stared up at the ghost unable to speak.

"Why are you so afraid of me Courage?"

The pink dog took a deep breath and composed himself. Finally he forced out the only three words that came together out of all the questions he had racing in his mind. "What are you?"

Arie glided over to stare out the window as he thought about how to answer Courage's question. After what seemed like a lifetime to the frightened dog, the ghost turned around. "What do you think I am?"

"I heard Caleb say that one of you guys is a sorcerer." Courage blurted out.

"In life I was indeed a very powerful sorcerer. It's not something I am proud of."

Courage stared wide eyed at the ghost, a million different questions racing through his mind.

Arie turned back toward the window. "You see, Courage, I was also a great prophet before I let myself get lost in my desire to become so powerful that people would fear and look up to me. I did succeed at gaining great power but lost everything else. Now, I am condemned to walk this earth until the end of time."

Courages thoughts jumbled as he tried to think of a way of asking the next question on his mind.

Arie seemed to read Courage's mind. Still staring out the window, he answered the nervous dog's unspoken question. "I hate what I became in life so I vowed not to use that power ever again. But now I find myself having to use it, first with the windmill last night and now to fight."

"Why not just let the vandals do the fighting?" Courage asked.

Arie sighed. "I wish I could do that. But those vandals are not strong enough to fight off the entire army of demons. If they were, then they would have no need of us once the spell on the windmill was changed."

Arie suddenly appeard distracted. A second later Caleb appeared in the room. "Arie, there's something outside that you need to take a look at."

Arie offered a hand to Courage. Courage swallowed the lump in his throat and reached out to hold on to Arie's hand and disappeared with the ghosts. They reappeared outside behind the barn. Several sets of footprints like the ones that Eustace had found by the back door covered the ground. But this wasn't what Caleb had brought them out to see. Along with the demon's footprints, there were several sets of prints that looked like they were left by an unusually large dog. There were also some others that looked like they might have been left by a _very_ large cat.

Arie stared down at the footprints then shook his head. "Looks like the demons are the least of the problem. These prints are either from werewolves, werecats or gargoyles."

Caleb nodded in agreement. "I, for one, hope that it's gargoyles. I would hate to meet the person who can summon up werewolves and werecats."

Courage shivered. "Why do they keep coming here?" he asked anxiously.

Arie looked down at Courage. "Do you have any enemies that might want to harm you or your owners?"

Courage looked up at Arie. Taking a deep breath, he began to name all the various people, animals, and things that he had come up against while trying to protect Muriel and his home.

Arie stared in disbelief as Courage ended the list with Eustace's Ma.

Caleb looked over at Arie then back to Courage. "Wow, I thought _I_ had enemies. Poor little guy, you have had it rough haven't you?"

Courage shrugged. To him, it was all just part of defending Muriel and his home.

Arie smiled down at Courage. "You really are a brave little dog Courage!"

Their conversation was interrupted as Alden came running up to the trio. He was so scared and out of breath that he could barely speak. "B-big big.. ug -ug-ugly... th-thing... creature... , " he pointed in the direction he had come from as he stammered out the words.

Arie and Caleb exchanged glances then glided away in the direction that Alden had pointed. Courage ran after them with Alden running behind him gasping for breath as he tried to keep up. Courage stopped in his tracks letting out a yell and turning white as he saw the large cat-like gargoyle standing just a few feet in front of where Arie and Caleb now stood. Without turning around, Arie motioned for Courage and Alden to stay where they were. Neither Caleb nor Arie seemed afraid of the creature that glared at them with gleaming black eyes as it slowly moved toward them. The two ghosts looked at each other as if silently communicating then Arie moved forward extending one hand while speaking in a language Courage had never heard before. The gargoyle let out a low rumbling growl and lunged toward Arie as the ghost continued reciting the spell. But before the creature could get to the ghost, it turned back into stone then crumbled into a fine dust which began to blow away in the gentle breeze.

"Wow!" Caleb exclaimed with a grin, "You don't mess around do you?"

Arie grinned devilishly at the other ghost. "I could have just turned it back into a statue but I didn't want whoever brought it here to have a chance to bring it back to life."

Courage was stunned by what he had just seen. Alden too was stunned. Both stood frozen in place staring wide-eyed at Arie.

Caleb seemed amused by the reaction Alden and Courage had to Arie's skillful spellcasting. But Arie just looked at the two then looked down. Seeing the sadness in the ghost's eyes, Courage began to feel sorry for Arie. Caleb, too, noticed the sadness in his friend. He gave Arie a pat on the back. "Come on, we better check on the house to make sure everybody is okay."

Arie nodded and followed Caleb past the barn with Courage and Alden close behind them. The four of them froze at the sight of another nightmare-brought-to-life in the form of a very large dog-like gargoyle standing next to Eustace's truck. Courage instantly recognized this one from the Nowhere Museum. The 15 foot tall statue used to stand on one side of the entrance leading to the mythical creature exhibit. The startled dog found himself wondering out loud where the other statue was. Arie looked back at Courage. "You mean there are _two_ of them!"

Courage nodded. "Uh-huh. They're from the Nowhere Museum!"

Caleb looked over at Arie. "Are you okay fighting this one?" he asked glancing over his shoulder at Courage and Alden.

Arie looked down. While he didn't want to scare Courage or Alden again he knew that the living statue needed to be completely destroyed which was something Caleb was unable to do. Reluctanly, Arie nodded and moved forward. The large gargoyle turned around as Arie began to recite the spell. The creature let out an unearthly shriek and lunged towared the ghost. But Arie was too quick. As the creature got near him, Arie disappeared then reappeared behind it continuing the spell. Before the gargoyle could turn around, it changed back into stone.

Courage breathed a sigh of relief as the statue crumbled then turned to dust. He gave Arie a big toothy grin. "I'm glad you're on _our_ side!"

Arie managed a weak smile. "So does this mean you aren't afraid of me anymore?"

Courage looked down at the ground feeling ashamed of himself. Unable to think of exactly what to say, he simply nodded. Arie smiled a him. A second later Courage heard the ghost's voice in his mind. "Thank-you Courage." Courage looked up at Arie and smiled back at him.

Recovering from the shock of seeing the huge gargoyles, Alden managed to speak, "We better get inside the house to make sure everyting is okay."

The four of them headed into the house. Caleb quickly searched the house to make sure that nothing had snuck into the house while they were outside. Alden turned his attention to the tv and the movie that Eustace and Muriel had fallen asleep while trying to watch. The movie was kind of boring and soon, Alden was also sound asleep on the rug in front of the tv. Arie waited for Caleb to return to the living room then retreated to his spot against the wall behind Muriel's rocking chair looking very drained. Courage sat down next to him. "Are you okay?"

Arie nodded. "That spell takes a lot out of me but, yes, I'm okay. Just need to rest for a little while. Would you please do me a favor and keep watch with Caleb until David and the children wake up?"

Courage nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Thank-you Courage."

Courage watched as Arie faded out then padded over to where Caleb was sitting just inside the front door. Caleb smiled as Courage settled down on the floor next to him. "You look tired, Courage. It's okay if you want to sleep for a little while. I'll wake you up if anything happens."

Courage wagged his tail and smiled gratefully up at Caleb. He was very tired but also determined to try to stay awake since Caleb was the only one awake right now. But the lack of sleep began to take its toll on Courage and his eyelids began to feel unbearably heavy. Soon Courage found himself falling into the most incredible sleep.


End file.
